Robin Radar finds new owner in private equity

TNO spinoff Robin Radar Systems has been acquired by the Dutch investment company Parcom. Since its foundation in 2010, the radar specialist from The Hague has established itself as a global leader in the detection and classification of birds and drones. Together with Parcom, it aims to continue its current growth trajectory, with a special focus on new sectors and geographies, particularly North America. Financial details of the transaction haven’t been disclosed.

Robin Radar’s solutions detect, track and classify small flying objects in a range of critical industries, including defense, civil and military aviation and wind farms. Airports like Amsterdam, Berlin, Bilbao, Copenhagen and Frankfurt have implemented the company’s systems to monitor bird movements up to ten kilometers all around, day and night. The radar output is displayed in real-time on tablets in bird control vehicles, which can then disperse the animals from critical spaces by, for example, using speakers on their rooftops to play a range of species-specific acoustic distress calls. When, in 2021, the Robin team learned that over 100 airports use these distress calls via a company called Scarecrow, they acquired this UK-based outfit.

In 2014, Robin Radar started investing in the development of purpose-built systems to detect drones and automatically distinguish them from birds, using micro-doppler. This means they can spot speed differences within the object to identify the presence of rotor blades. The company’s latest 3D drone radar, Iris, addresses evolving counter-drone challenges within both defense and security, also targeting applications such as border and prison perimeter surveillance.

Financially backed by its CEO Siete Hamminga, the Mainport Investment Fund and VC firm Inkef, Robin Radar has skyrocketed to over 150 employees (link in Dutch). In the last three years, it saw its revenue quadruple to 43 million euros. Last August, the Dutch Ministry of Defense placed a repeat order for 51 drone radars, to be donated to Ukraine, which called for a further scale-up of the company and additional funding. Hamminga, who will stay on as CEO, told the Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad that he expects revenue to grow to 50 million euros this year and as much as 150 million by 2030.

Through the Parcom partnership, Robin Radar is set to expand its presence in key markets. It will further invest in the development of new radar solutions to meet the changing needs within the sector. In addition to product development, the company will focus on increasing its sales and services rollout in the rapidly growing defense and civil market segments, including in North America. To facilitate joint growth, Robin Radar and Parcom will drive an ambitious scale-up strategy, expanding the organization and increasing assembly outsourcing.

Founded in 1982, Parcom is an Amsterdam-based private equity firm that supports entrepreneurs and management teams in phases of sustainable growth or transformation. Its portfolio includes industrial companies like 247Tailorsteel (laser-cut metal products), Huisman (superyachts), Tencate (functional materials and process technologies) and Vlisco (clothing and textiles) but also Elektramat (electrotechnical wholesale), Hema (retail) and Hunkemöller (lingerie).