Coda Octopus Group announces acquisition of Precision Acoustics Limited
30/01/2025
Coda Octopus Group Inc (Coda), a global market leader in 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology for real-time subsea intelligence and cutting-edge diving technology, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Precision Acoustics Limited, based in Dorchester, UK, in close proximity to the company’s subsidiary Coda Octopus Martech Limited.
Precision Acoustics was formed in 1997 and is well established as a leading technical authority to the MHz ultrasound and acoustic measurement markets. It is a global leader in the field of hydrophone design and other acoustic-related technologies, which have wide application but are currently primarily used in the medical imaging and non-destructive testing (NDT) markets. It is a leading innovator, developer and worldwide supplier of products, materials and customised services to the MHz ultrasound markets and has a sizeable market share. Over many years, it has formed close working relationships with a number of national and global standard setting bodies (whose mandate is to set the national primary and measurement standards) and with academic institutions worldwide to further ultrasound research. Precision Acoustics has also authored many leading publications in this area.
Prior to the acquisition, Coda worked with Precision Acoustics on a number of underwater acoustic-related research and development projects and it supplied the company with its proprietary acoustic materials used for the Echoscope and Diver Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) technology solutions.
The acquisition brings to the Group substantial acoustic thought leadership and expertise combined with years of domain knowledge and a complementary range of acoustic-related technologies, which are today unleveraged in the underwater acoustics space (since its primary focus has been on medical imaging and NDT). Many of the Precision Acoustics technologies have subsea applications and the company believes that it can leverage these in the underwater acoustic market, which it has been a supplier to over 30 years. The acquisition of Precision Acoustics positions the Group to expand its offerings and solutions.
Annmarie Gayle, Coda’s Chair and CEO, commented: “This was a carefully considered acquisition and we are excited to have gained the trust and confidence of the Precision Acoustics team as we complete the acquisition. It brings deep and established expertise in acoustics, along with a wide range of products currently used in the medical imaging space and NDT fields, which is leverageable in the underwater commercial marine and defence market. The combined strengths of Precision Acoustics and the rest of our Group companies positions the Group to offer much more to the defence engineering space and the offshore underwater space and will bolster the Group’s growth strategy. Finally, in the financial year ended December 2023, the Group generated $4 million (approximately £3.15 million) in revenue and a net profit of approximately $450,000 (approximately £355,000). We believe that combining our marketing and sales resources will also help to increase their footprint and therefore revenue and profits. The purchase price was paid in cash and no equity was allocated as part of this transaction. This is the first of a number of acquisitions we are considering. As I have always said, we have built the foundation for organic growth around our underwater technologies: the Echoscope and DAVD. We are now looking to complement our growth opportunities through our well-architected and executed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy.”
Dr Andrew Hurrell, Principal Research Physicist of Precision Acoustics, said: “My colleagues and I are very excited to be able to bring our expertise, knowledge and skills to the broader Coda Octopus Group, where there are significant synergies in our skill set and customer base. We see the opportunities to join forces and combine our joint offerings, thus providing a more complete solution for our common customers. At Precision Acoustics, we already have a large portfolio of clients that use our hydrophones, acoustic materials and test environments, both for research and increasingly in non-destructive testing and medical applications, and the resources of a larger Group with electromechanical engineering capability and leading products in underwater technologies will enable us to provide more functional solutions and even more complete solutions to our customers. It also opens opportunities to establish Precision Acoustics offerings and capabilities in the underwater market.”
