Blade To Sell Passenger Business To Joby Aviation For Up To $125 Mln; Stock Up In Pre-market

(RTTNews) - Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (BLDE), on Monday that announced a deal to sell its passenger business to Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY) for up to $125 million.

The deal is anticipated to be finalized in the next few weeks, with Strata's new stock ticker to be revealed later.

Joby will pay up to $125 million for the acquisition, which may be paid in cash or Joby stock, at Joby's discretion. The total includes up to $35 million in earnouts tied to performance and retention milestones

The company expects the financial impact of the divestiture to be neutral to both Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow, supported by about $7 million in estimated annual cost savings.

As part of the deal, Strata will gain access to Joby aircraft for medical use through a long-term eVTOL partnership.

Strata will focus on using its asset-light model to deliver essential logistics and medical services to hospitals and healthcare providers nationwide, aiming to grow both organically and through acquisitions.

Trinity Medical Solutions, the company's operating business in the Medical segment and a leading U.S. air transporter of human organs for transplant, will continue as a wholly owned subsidiary of Strata.

The sale of the company's passenger business includes its U.S. and European operations, as well as its lounges, terminals at key hubs, and the Blade brand.

Following the completion of the deal, the company's Medical division will remain a public company and rebrand as Strata Critical Medical.

Further, at closing, Rob Wiesenthal, Blade's Founder and CEO, will join Joby as CEO of Blade Air Mobility and also become Chairman of the Board of Strata.

Will Heyburn, Blade's CFO, and Melissa Tomkiel, President and General Counsel, will become Co-CEOs of Strata, while continuing in their current roles.

Eric Affeldt, Blade's current Chairman, will serve as Lead Independent Director of Strata.

In the pre-market trading, 29% higher at $4.88 on the Nasdaq.

In the pre-market trading, Joby Aviation is 5.30% higher at $18.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.