Australian surveillance and security company Spectur Limited (ASX: SP3) has acquired 3 Crowns Technologies (3CT), giving the former control of the artificial intelligence technology business with integration set to commence in the week of 20 February 2023.

Spectur acquired 3CT from Coastalwatch Holdings under the terms of a Share Purchase Agreement signed on 23 December 2022 which comprised $600,000 cash and $250,000 in fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of Spectur.

While its systems have broad applications across fire and flood safety and safeguarding property, Spectur considers itself a dominant player in Australia’s beach safety and warning space and its solutions have been used by a number of private and government institutions including Optus, Surf Life Saving and the Department of Defence.

Likewise, 3CT has been contracted by both government and private institutions such as the NSW Government, Queensland Government, City of Gold Coast, Surf Life Saving, Lendlease, and Gladstone Ports Corporation.

“At a time when camera-based surveillance and national security are particularly in focus, it’s ideal for a company like Spectur to solidify its proposition,” Spectur Managing Director, Dr Gerard Dyson said, referring to news surrounding the removal of at least 913 Chinese-made security cameras from more than 250 Australian government buildings and the fact that Spectur’s systems are fully Australian designed, manufactured and coded.

An ‘extremely synergistic and strategic’ acquisition

“Both Spectur and 3CT share a common purpose in making communities safer and improving  lives through the use of technology,” Dr Gerard Dyson said. “The acquisition of 3CT marks a material milestone in the growth of Spectur and we believe it will provide strategic benefits, as well as additional revenue and consistent positive cash generation within the broader group.”

The acquisition entitles Spectur to cash and cash equivalents of ~$170,000, intellectual property in a number of monetised coastal monitoring algorithms and more than 60 owned and licensed coastal camera monitoring stations.

“This accelerates our R&D plans by 24 months or more in sensing and user interface and user experience expansion, and creates an even greater technology moat around Spectur,” Dr Dyson said.

The company believes that the 3CT acquisition brings a range of complementary technologies and other benefits that adds Spectur’s advantage of being able to provide the first and currently only ‘set and forget’ turnkey, solar-powered, camera-based security and surveillance solution that can run on low data.

“3CT is already a successful business, with three consecutive years of positive revenue and EBITDA results, and we expect that with modest investments in marketing and sales support from Spectur, that revenue can increase sharply in the near term,” Dr Dyson said.

Spectur CEO Gerard Dyson will be holding an investor briefing on Thursday 2nd March at 12pm (AEDT), where he will discuss how the 3CT acquisition accelerates Spectur’s vision, Spectur’s strategy to meet the demand for innovative, remote camera and IoT solutions, the company’s growing sales pipeline of institutional contracts and more. Click here to book in.

Reach Corporate provides Corporate Advisory Services, including managing investor communications on behalf of Spectur Limited and may receive fees for its services.