TOKYO - Canadian space company MDA Space is on an acquisition bender, and it's not done yet. The company announced July 8 it would acquire 70% of French Earth data analytics firm Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) for 567 million euros ($648 million) in cash. The French space agency CNES will keep its 30% stake, presumably so it can still feel involved.

CLS, a 40-year-old company with 1,200 employees, specializes in analyzing Earth observation data from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and ocean topographic data from joint European-American satellites, plus maritime traffic monitoring. It reported 203 million euros in revenue in 2025 - not bad for a company that's been staring at the planet for four decades.

MDA Space CEO Mike Greenley said the acquisition would give his company new analytics capabilities and distribution channels for its SAR satellites. "As a result of this acquisition, we are creating a vertically integrated AI-driven advanced data analytics platform for Earth observation," he said, boasting over 14,000 customers. He welcomed CNES as a minority shareholder, calling them an "engaged long-term institutional partner." CLS CEO Stéphanie Limouzin, meanwhile, called the deal a "unique opportunity to accelerate development."

This is MDA Space's second major acquisition in recent weeks, following the June 19 agreement to buy smallsat manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies from RTX for $620 million. CFO Guillaume Lavoie said the company has fully committed bank financing for both deals, but expects to optimize its capital structure through "a combination of equity, debt, and bank facilities" - corporate speak for "we'll figure it out."

The deals are part of a broader wave of space industry M&A: Amazon announced an $11 billion deal to acquire Globalstar in April; Rocket Lab said it would buy Iridium for $8 billion on June 29; Gilat agreed to buy most of Comtech's space communications business for $157.5 million; and Voyager Technologies agreed to acquire lunar lander developer Astrobotic for $300 million. At the Spacetide conference in Tokyo, Novaspace partner Rainer Horn noted more than 50 space-related M&A deals in the last five years, with the pace accelerating. "We're getting inquiries every week," he said.

Most activity is in the U.S. and Europe, not Japan - though Mitsubishi Electric did acquire ground-station-as-a-service firm Infostellar for an undisclosed amount on July 2. Infostellar will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, using Mitsubishi's resources to "reduce customers' operational burdens" - which is a nice way of saying they'll have a bigger budget now.