The deal would give MDA roughly 70 per cent ownership of Collecte Localisation Satellites, which uses satellite imaging and data from thousands of terrestrial sensors to monitor land and air. The company is currently owned by the Centre national d’études spatiales (CNES, France’s national space agency) and Belgian investment firm CNP. CNES would keep ownership of roughly 30 per cent of Collecte Localisation. MDA plans to sell US$819 million in new shares (an amount it boosted from an initial amount of US$712 million) to cover the purchase. (The Logic)

Talking point: MDA is already in the Earth-observation business as a provider of data and hardware—it just finalized a $688-million contract with the Canadian government to supply a new Radarsat satellite—and said the all-cash acquisition would double its recurring revenue stream, add about 1,200 staff at 40 sites around the world and help it sell its own observation services to new customers. Just weeks ago, MDA agreed to buy American satellite-maker Blue Canyon for US$620 million.

Editor’s note: This briefing has been updated with details of MDA’s upsized bought deal.