Joby Aviation takes off after announcing it will buy Blade Air’s passenger business for $125 million
Shares of both companies surged on the news.
Air taxi company Joby Aviation said Monday that it plans to acquire the helicopter ride-share business of rival Blade Air for up to $125 million.
The deal does not include Blade’s primary revenue driver, its organ transport business, which represented about 66% of overall sales in its first quarter this year.
Joby shares were up 18% just after the open, while Blade shares soared 24%.
Blade will remain a public company focused on medical transportation and logistics, and will rebrand as Strata. It will partner with Joby on medical transport.
According to Joby, the deal gives it access to infrastructure across “key urban corridors,” including in New York City, and a “large loyal base of passengers” it plans to transition from helicopters to next-generation electric aircraft.
Air taxi companies like Joby and rival Archer Aviation are having a banner year, raising hundreds millions of dollars from established transportation companies and receiving the favor of the Trump administration. Both companies are also rapidly building out their defense businesses — Joby announced a fresh partnership with L3Harris Technologies last week. Archer CEO Adam Goldstein recently told Sherwood News he believes defense will be the company’s primary business for at least 10 years.
