Terra Drone acquires Skeye to become one of the world’s largest drone firms

Japanese drone company Terra Drone has acquired a majority stake in European drone service provider Skeye for an undisclosed fee

Terra Drone’s press release said that the acquisition places the firm amongst the biggest drone-based companies in the world, with over 250 employees across its presence on every continent.

Skeye itself specialises in aerial surveys and inspections in the oil and gas market.

"We have had discussions with many drone operators in Europe but were especially impressed with the track record and professionalism of Skeye,” said Toru Tokushige, Terra Drone CEO.

“Skeye has an excellent track record and vast professional experience in the on- and offshore oil and gas market, in both inspections and 3D surveys using drones. We consider Skeye to be the best partner to bring our technologies to the European and African market."

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Pieter Franken, Skeye’s Managing Director, added:

"Terra Drone will bring a wealth of new technologies and a global network that we can use to better serve our international clients. This will ensure we can keep on providing our customers with the most cutting-edge technologies, now and in the future.

“The TerraUTM operating platform, 4G capabilities for guiding drones over large distances, inhouse developed Terra-LiDAR, smart learning inspection software, and their proprietary mapping software Terra-Mapper are but a few of examples of technologies that this partnership will bring."

The Skeye acquisition is Terra Drone’s second in as many months. According to an 11 October press release, Terra Drone had bought a “significant stake” in Swedish aerial robotics for underground mining firm Inkonova for an undisclosed fee.