Blade Air Mobility Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDE) on Monday announced that it is offloading its passenger transportation business to Joby Aviation Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) in a deal valued up to $125 million, aiming to sharpen its focus exclusively on medical air transport and logistics.
The transaction includes Blade’s U.S. and European passenger operations, airport terminals, and lounges, which will continue under Joby as a standalone unit.
Following the sale, Blade will rebrand as Strata Critical Medical, a public company focused on time-sensitive medical logistics. Its medical division, Trinity Medical Solutions, one of the largest air transporters of human organs in the U.S., will remain a wholly owned subsidiary.
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Strata aims to scale its asset-light platform through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, serving hospitals and healthcare networks. Company executives noted that 84% of 2024’s segment-level adjusted EBITDA came from its medical business. The company has also maintained 100% customer retention over the past year among transplant hospitals.
“This divestiture allows us to focus entirely on Medical, our fastest growing and most profitable business line, which represented approximately 84% and 59% of 2024 Segment Adjusted EBITDA and Revenue, respectively,” said Will Heyburn, Blade’s Chief Financial Officer. “Following the close, Strata will be a pure-play, contractual medical business operating in rapidly growing markets that are not correlated with the overall macro environment.”
For Joby, the deal provides immediate access to urban aviation infrastructure and a base of over 50,000 annual fliers. Blade’s terminals at JFK, Newark, and key New York City locations will aid Joby in accelerating commercial rollout ahead of its first passenger flights in Dubai next year. As part of the deal, Joby will serve as the preferred VTOL partner for Blade’s organ transport unit.
“This is a strategically important acquisition that will support the successful launch of Joby’s commercial operations in Dubai, our subsequent global rollout and our continued leadership in the sector,” commented JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, Joby Aviation.
Joby also recently teamed up with L3Harris to build hybrid military aircraft, boosting its presence in the defense sector and signaling further diversification beyond consumer eVTOL services.
Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal will move to Joby to lead the acquired business and serve as chairman of Strata. Blade CFO Will Heyburn and President Melissa Tomkiel will act as co-CEOs of Strata.
The payment structure includes up to $125 million in stock or cash, with $35 million contingent on performance goals and retention benchmarks. A new ticker for Strata will be announced post-close and is expected in the coming weeks.
JOBY held cash and cash equivalents of $122.29 million as of March 31, 2025.
Related ETFs: ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK), SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (NYSE:XTN)
Price Action: At last check Monday, JOBY shares were trading higher by 5.94% at $18.18, and BLDR was up 27.72% at $4.79 premarket.
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Photo by T. Schneider via Shutterstock
