Poland plans to buy a stake in Iseue. Prytula Fund acquired their satellite in 2022

Warsaw is in the final stages of negotiations to acquire a stake in the Finnish satellite company Iceye, which became known for tracking the movements of Russian troops on the eve of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by the Financial Times with reference to the company’s CEO Rafal Modrzewski.

• The amount of the investment has not yet been disclosed. According to Modrzewski, the new financing will be in addition to the $550 million already raised from investors.
• The Polish share of the investment will come through the state-owned Development Bank and will complement the Polish Defense Ministry’s May contract for the purchase of up to six Iceye satellites worth $230 million.

Iceye was founded in 2014 by Modrzewski and his Finnish partner Pekka Laurila as a supplier of radar images of ice massifs for Arctic shipping. After Russia’s war against Ukraine began, the company became one of the key suppliers of satellite imagery for military use. It is now valued at well over $1 billion, the CEO said.

In 2022, Serhiy Prytula’s foundation purchased one of the Iceye satellites for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, using UAH 600 million raised by Ukrainians for Bayraktar.

Iceye’s satellites are equipped with SAR (synthetic aperture radar) technology, which allows them to capture images at night and in all weather conditions, unlike traditional optical satellites. Since the start of the full-scale war, the company has been providing Ukraine with data on the movement of Russian troops, and last year signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyiv to strengthen cooperation.

Currently, Iceye has 54 satellites in orbit, each costing about $20 million to produce. Half of them are used by defense agencies of different countries, including the Netherlands, Finland, Brazil, and Portugal. Among the company’s partners are BAE Systems and Rheinmetall, with whom Iceye plans to expand satellite production in Germany.

The company produces about 25 satellites annually and plans to quadruple its capacity to 100-150 units per year. To do so, Modrzewski says Iceye needs “substantial additional capital” beyond the Polish investment.

In addition to private investors, including BlackRock, OTB Ventures, and Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Iceye is backed by the European Investment Bank and Finnish state investor Solidium Oy.

The vast majority of Iceye’s satellites have been launched from the United States, India, and New Zealand. The company’s production facilities are located in Finland, Spain, Greece and the United States.