CoStar to buy aerial-imagery firm Vexcel for $730M in cash
What's the deal? CoStar GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to acquire VexcelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → Group, one of the world's largest survey-grade aerial-imagery operators, for about $730 million in cash. CoStar is a global provider of online real estate marketplaces, information, and analytics; Vexcel runs an imagery network spanning more than 45 countries and 320 major metros, covering 99.6% of the US population.
What's the endgame? CoStar wants to turn Vexcel's imagery into property-level data at scale. Combining the images with AI, the company believes it can capture hundreds of data fields per property across the roughly half a billion properties Vexcel has mapped.
Why Vexcel? It captures more than 60 million images a year and designs its own UltraCam cameras, controlling capture, aircraft, and processing end to end. That yields resolutions of 7.5 to 15 centimetres — roughly 16 times finer than typical satellite imagery — used for insurance underwriting, catastrophe response, and infrastructure planning.
By the numbers: Vexcel generated more than $140 million in revenue over the last twelve months, up over 30% year on year, on recurring multi-year contracts, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of about 20%. CoStar says it can accelerate that growth by deploying its 2,000 salespeople, many of whom already serve Vexcel's prospects.
What's next? Vexcel will keep operating under its own brand after closing, with chief executive officer Erik Jorgensen and his team staying on. "By joining CoStar Group, we gain the scale, technology, and resources to broaden our reach, accelerate innovation, and deliver even greater value to customers worldwide," Jorgensen said. The deal is expected to close in early 2027, subject to approvals.
The signal: The purchase extends CoStar's push to pair property listings with immersive, AI-enabled tools, following its integration of Matterport's 3D technology and an agreement to buy housing-data firm ZondaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. It fits a wider proptech trend toward buying data and AI capability — though the payoff depends on CoStar turning imagery into products that sell.
Read more: marketscreener.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
