Red Cat Launches ~$220 Million All-Cash Bid for Austrian Engine Maker Steyr Motors
Company Background
Red Cat Holdings (Nasdaq: RCAT) is a Salt Lake City-based provider of autonomous systems for defense and national security, with products spanning small unmanned aircraft, uncrewed surface vessels, and swarming software. Revenue growth has been dramatic: full-year 2025 revenue of $40.7 million represented a 161% increase year-over-year, and management is guiding $150 million to $180 million in the short to medium term. Revenue for the first half of 2026 reached $35.7 million, up more than 600% from the same period a year earlier.
The growth has come at a substantial cost. Red Cat posted a net loss of $61.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, and operating cash outflow for that period was $78.7 million. Gross margins are improving but remain thin — 16.1% in the second quarter of 2026, up sequentially from 12.7% in Q1. To fund its expansion, the company sold approximately 27.5 million shares in an underwritten public offering in May 2026, generating gross proceeds of approximately $258.75 million. As of June 30, 2026, Red Cat held $325.6 million in cash.
The company has been on an acquisition spree in 2026. In March, it acquired the businesses of Apium Swarm Robotics in an all-stock deal. In May, it completed the purchase of Canadian wireless power company Quaze Technologies for approximately $21 million in stock plus up to $5 million in earnout consideration. The Steyr bid would be a larger order of magnitude than either of those transactions, and the first to be funded in cash.
What Was Disclosed
On October 21, 2026, Red Cat entered into a Business Combination Agreement to acquire Steyr Motors AG, an Austrian manufacturer of high-performance specialty engines for military ground vehicles, military and civilian marine applications, and auxiliary power units for main battle tanks. The acquirer is SMOT Acquisition GmbH, a wholly owned Austrian subsidiary of Red Cat. The offer price is EUR 39.00 per share in cash for all 5,251,261 outstanding shares, implying aggregate consideration of approximately EUR 204.8 million. The offer represents a 28.9% premium to Steyr's closing price on October 16, 2026, and a 27.3% premium to the stock's 30-day volume-weighted average price. The offer document was published October 22, 2026, on a dedicated transaction website.