Shield to buy Echodyne for $5.3 billion and raise $2.5 billion

Shield said on November 5 that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Echodyne Corp. in a transaction valued at $5.3 billion. Echodyne makes software-defined radars used in counter-drone and security systems.

Shield is raising $2.5 billion alongside the deal. The financing includes $1 billion in Series H funding at a $28.8 billion post-money valuation, a $1 billion structured equity investment from funds managed by Blackstone, and $500 million in debt financing led by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. as Sole Arranger and Administrative Agent.

The purchase expands Shield's Mission Systems business into radar and counter-drone work. Shield said Echodyne radars are built into hundreds of counter-drone and security systems used by governments and commercial operators. The radars support counter-unmanned aircraft systems that detect, track, and defeat drones. Echodyne uses metamaterials-based MESA radar technology and will keep supplying stand-alone radars to integrators and end customers after the close, with its team remaining in place.

Echodyne recently added U.S. manufacturing capacity in Washington. Based in Kirkland, Washington, Echodyne opened an 86,350-square-foot plant described as a $40 million investment that can produce about 30,000 radars per year. In September, Echodyne received a contract with a $250 million ceiling from Joint Interagency Task Force 401 to supply counter-drone radar to U.S. and allied forces.

The companies expect the acquisition to close in early 2027. Closing remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was exclusive financial advisor to Shield on the acquisition, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz was legal counsel.