Guess what. Blade is selling its passenger division (the helicopter part you probably think of when you hear the name) to Joby Aviation.
The wild part is what Blade is doing next. The company will rebrand to Strata and focus solely on organ transportation.
And get this: Blade did $36m in organ transportation in Q1. That’s a big business.
I was reading the official announcement.
Here are the details:
Joby Aviation (JOBY 19.90% ▲) agreed to acquire Blade Air Mobility’s passenger division for up to $125 million, adding to its commercial passenger aircraft endeavors.
The transportation company will receive operations in the U.S. and Europe, lounges and terminals, and the Blade brand. Operations will continue with the business functioning as a stand-alone entity within Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Joby upon closing. Joby will have the choice to pay the purchase price in cash or stock.
Shares of Blade surged 27% to $4.82, while Joby jumped 17% to $20.05.
Joby Chief Executive JoeBen Bevirt in an interview with CNBC pointed to momentum in the business by way of a recent executive order from the Trump administration and stances from regulators around the world. He added that some aircraft testing is currently approved in Dubai.
“We think with the executive order, there may be the potential to pull the timeline on commercialization here in the U.S.,” said Bevirt.
The divestiture by Blade puts its focus more on its core business of medical logistics, specifically air transportation. Medical revenue totaled nearly $36 million of the roughly $54 million reported in its first quarter. Blade’s passenger business provides short-distance passenger flights using helicopters and planes primarily in the northeast U.S., southern Europe and western Canada.
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