Gloucester, UK – Ground Control, the UK and US-based specialist in satellite IoT devices and cloud-based platforms, has been acquired by CLS, the global provider of satellite services for environmental monitoring and resource management.

The acquisition strengthens CLS’s position in the rapidly growing satellite IoT market and enhances its ability to deliver solutions for environmental protection, climate adaptation, and the security of people, assets and critical infrastructure.

The company’s sustained growth underscores the effectiveness of CLS’s strategy and its resilience in an increasingly competitive global market. This acquisition marks the group’s 18th since it began external growth initiatives in 2008.

As the long-standing operator of the Argos satellite-based data collection and localisation system, CLS was tracking objects long before the advent of GPS. A subsidiary of CNES (French Space Agency) and CNP, an investment company, CLS pioneered satellite data collection and geolocation services, which remain at the core of its activities. Over the years, the company has become a global player in satellite IoT solutions.

Ground Control brings expertise in rugged satellite hardware, from cost-effective RockBLOCK modules to advanced RockREMOTE devices, and its Cloudloop platform for device and data management. Ground Control’s technologies enrich CLS’s already extensive ecosystem, which includes beacons, services, decision-support cloud platforms, forecasting models and artificial intelligence tools. While CLS and Ground Control sometimes operate in the same strategic sectors, they address complementary customer bases and offer distinct yet interoperable technologies.

Stéphanie Limouzin, President of The CLS Group, said: “Combining CLS’s space-based IoT services with Ground Control’s hardware and cloud platforms allows us to provide clients with a broader range of solutions, faster support, and more operational flexibility.”

Alastair MacLeod, CEO of Ground Control, added: “Joining CLS is a natural step for Ground Control. Together, we offer complete end-to-end solutions with stronger global coverage and shared environmental values.”

The acquisition adds four operational sites to CLS’s existing network of 31 offices across five continents, bringing the total to 35 locations and more than 1,100 employees. Clients of both companies will benefit from an integrated ecosystem, expanded local presence, increased R&D capacity, and a shared commitment to sustainable innovation.

Ground Control was advised by HCR (legal) and IAGC (financial), while CLS was advised by Capital Law (UK) and Meister Seelig & Fein (USA).

About Ground Control

Ground Control is a UK- and US-based company specialized in reliable, rugged satellite and hybrid IoT communications solutions for remote and mission-critical operations.

Founded nearly 30 years ago, the company has built a strong reputation for designing and manufacturing compact, low-power satellite IoT devices and two-way messaging trackers, used across industries where connectivity is essential, no matter how remote the location.

At the heart of Ground Control’s offering is Cloudloop, a flexible and secure device and subscription management platform that enables seamless provisioning, data routing, and operational visibility across diverse global asset fleets.

With teams based in the UK and California, Ground Control serves a broad range of sectors, including:

• Environmental science & monitoring
• Fisheries & marine operations
• Utilities & smart grid
• Renewable energy infrastructure
• Disaster response & early warning systems
• Agriculture & precision farming,
• Defence & humanitarian logistics.

Ground Control’s devices and platforms are used by governments, NGOs, research institutes, and industrial operators worldwide to enable data-driven decision-making, monitor assets in real time, and ensure business continuity in challenging environments.

Now part of the CLS Group, Ground Control continues to develop robust, field-proven technology while benefiting from the global reach, environmental mission, and scientific legacy of its new parent company.

www.groundcontrol.com

About CLS

CLS is a global company, mission-driven, and pioneer provider of monitoring and surveillance solutions for the Earth, created in 1986. It is a subsidiary of the French Space Agency (CNES) and CNP, an investment firm.

Its mission is to create innovative space-based solutions to understand and protect our planet and to manage its resources sustainably.

CLS employs 1100 people at its headquarters in Toulouse (France) and in 34 other sites around the world.

The company works in five strategic markets:

• sustainable fisheries management
• environmental monitoring
• maritime surveillance
• mobility
• and energies & infrastructures.

CLS processes data from almost 200,000 beacons per month (such as drifting buoys, animal tags, VMS beacons, and LRIT tracking) and observes the oceans and inland waters (every day more than 20 instruments onboard satellites deliver information to CLS on the world’s seas and oceans). In addition, CLS monitors land and sea activities by satellite (nearly 20,000 radar and optical images and several hundred drone flights are processed each year). The CLS Group had a revenue of nearly 193 million Euros in 2024.

Committed to a sustainable planet, every day the company works for Earth, from Space.

www.cls.fr

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