Action camera maker GoPro to be acquired after decade-long decline

GoPro is set to be acquired by a self-described AI hardware company, sending shares in the struggling action camera maker surging as much as 80 per cent a day after a YouTube influencer emerged as a major investor.

GoPro on Tuesday said it had entered into a merger agreement with Starman Optical, a privately held manufacturer of optical transceivers, components that convert electrical signals into light pulses and back again.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, GoPro shareholders will receive an aggregate cash payment of $285mn, or $1.14 a share, a roughly 30 per cent premium to their closing price on Monday. The company’s outstanding debt of $92mn “will be repaid in full at closing”, GoPro said in a statement.

“We expect this merger to enable GoPro to grow across consumer, commercial and defence markets as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company, addressing important areas of national security related to cameras, optics and AI infrastructure,” Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and chief executive, said on Tuesday.

GoPro’s stock has suffered since the company’s IPO in 2014 as smartphone cameras have improved. Its share price peaked at $93 in October 2014, valuing the company at almost $12bn. The shares shed about 99 per cent of their value over the next decade and were trading as low as $0.60 before this week’s jump.

Shares in GoPro jumped 43 per cent on Monday as reports emerged that Mark Fischbach, a popular YouTuber known as Markiplier, had built an 8.5 per cent stake in the company, making him the largest shareholder. The shares climbed a further 80 per cent in pre-market trading on Tuesday, ahead of the merger announcement.

The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is set to close by the end of the year, subject to approval from regulators and GoPro’s stockholders. GoPro said it would remain a publicly listed company.

“Advanced optics and imaging are essential to AI, national security and the broader economy, yet much of the critical hardware supporting these technologies continues to be manufactured overseas,” said Charles Tebele, Starman’s CEO. “Together, we intend to bring production of these critical components back to the United States.”

Starman Optical is part of New York-based Starman Holdings, a family-run “global portfolio of leading companies” spanning tech, consumer brands and real estate development, according to its website.

Results published last month showed GoPro’s second-quarter revenue fell 31 per cent year on year to $105mn. Its net losses climbed 210 per cent to $51mn over the same period. In May, GoPro said its board of directors was exploring “a range of strategic alternatives” including a potential sale to a company in the defence sector.