Joby issues 2.4M shares to Strata as Blade deal hits EBITDA targets
What's the deal? Joby Aviation has filed a prospectus supplement covering up to 2.42 million shares for potential resale by Strata Critical IncDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, tied to its acquisition of Blade Air MobilityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Joby issued 2,419,801 shares to Strata Critical on September 8 after the acquired Blade operations met specific EBITDA milestones.
Why now? The shares are earn-out consideration, triggered only once the Blade business cleared its performance targets. The filing lets Strata Critical resell those shares through public or private transactions; Joby will not receive any proceeds and is not selling shares itself.
What's the endgame? Joby is building an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi business, and the Blade acquisition folds in an established air mobility operation. The issued shares represent roughly 0.24% of Joby's 996.3 million shares outstanding, a modest dilution for the added operations.
Meanwhile: Joby's autonomous J208 aircraft, a converted Cessna Caravan, has begun a month-long, 10-state coast-to-coast tour. The plane was displayed in Fort Worth at the launch of a White House-supported eVTOL and Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program, hosted by US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Joby is also running passenger-style route demonstrations in Dallas-Fort Worth and has leased a 45,000ft² facility at Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
What could go wrong? Joby remains under financial pressure. The stock hit a 52-week low of $6.25 and has fallen 53.87% over the past 12 months, with the company still posting losses. Jim Cramer recently reiterated a bearish stance, calling the stock "an interesting spec" he would not invest in.
The signal: Milestone-based earn-outs let acquirers like Joby fold in operating businesses while tying part of the price to performance — spreading risk as it scales toward commercial air taxi service. The parallel push into autonomous flight demonstrations and government pilot programs shows Joby working both the deal-making and regulatory tracks at once.
Read more: benzinga.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
