Scouting Mission;
Credit: Kleos Space
Kleos Space, a Luxembourg-based space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance (RF) data provider, has announced that it has secured a €3.1 million loan agreement with Dubai-based family office Winance to progress its commercialisation plans and repay the extant convertible note.
As part of this agreement, facilitated by the recent Luxembourg trade mission to Dubai, Winance will further provide optional €6 million through a convertible note agreement, subject to final documentation.
Andy Bowyer, CEO of Kleos Space, explained: “The loan agreement provides Kleos with working capital to progress the development of our second cluster of satellites while we await revenues from our Scouting Mission satellites. Luxembourg has a successful economic partnership with the UAE, developed over the past decades. This collaboration provides Luxembourg-based organisations operating in the space sector, such as Kleos Space, with access to investment and financing opportunities”.
Waqas Ibrahim, Director and CFO of Winance, added: “This new partnership is in line with Winance’s vision of investing in proficient and progressive thinking management teams. We are convinced that this collaboration can serve as a springboard for both our companies in the GCC, Australian and Luxembourg markets. Kleos technology has never been more relevant than today in addressing a real world need and has attracted interest from governments and private organisations”.
Winance reached out to Kleos Space during the trade mission organised in Dubai by the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Ministry of the Economy, the Luxembourg Embassy and the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Abu Dhabi at the end of January 2020.
Marc Serres, CEO of the Luxemboug Space Agency (LSA), said: “Luxembourg and the UAE share the same commitment to support the economic development of the commercial space industry. The agreement between a Luxembourg-based company and a Dubai family office shows that our bilateral cooperation with the UAE is successful when it comes to developing high technology space products and services through financing instruments tailored to meet the needs of private companie”.
The funds will allow Kleos to repay extant evolution equities convertible notes, progress the development and launch of its second cluster of satellites and increase its presence within the US defence sector. The loan agreement ensures Kleos is well-funded to execute its commercialisation plans while awaiting revenues from early adopter contracts.
Indeed, Kleos will commence generating first revenues after the launch of its Scouting Mission satellites from Chennai, India, in the coming weeks. This initial satellite cluster is the foundation of a larger constellation which will geolocate radio frequency transmissions to provide global activity-based intelligence irrespective of the presence of positioning systems, unclear imagery and targets out of patrol range.
