Kpler wraps up Spire Maritime acquisition

Brussels-based maritime data analytics firm Kpler has closed the acquisition of Spire Global’s ship tracking business, Spire Maritime.

The deal, worth about $241m, gives Kpler control over Spire’s satellites and maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) data stream.

“This milestone marks a significant step forward in Kpler’s mission to deliver decision defining insights across the global trade sector,” said Mark Cunningham, CEO of Kpler, adding: “The addition of this high quality data will unlock greater value for our customers and partners by providing increasingly comprehensive and timely insights into global trade flows.”

The move announced last November initially encountered a few roadblocks, leading to a legal dispute between the two companies that was settled earlier in April.

Kpler has made several noticeable acquisitions in recent years. Back in 2021, the company acquired New York-headquartered cargo data company ClipperData, and last year, it bought two well-known ship tracking brands, MarineTraffic and FleetMon.

The latest transaction is under regulatory review by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA, and Kpler said that both businesses would operate independently until the process is complete.