Latham & Watkins Advises Joby Aviation on US$500 Million Acquisition of Resonant Sciences

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Resonant Sciences, a Dayton, Ohio-based defense technology company, for approximately US$500 million. The acquisition will represent a significant expansion of Joby’s defense business, delivering immediate scale through a rapidly growing and EBITDA-positive business supporting active US national security programs. Resonant also brings classified infrastructure, qualified products, established production operations, and longstanding customer relationships, as well as a deeply experienced technical team. By bringing together the companies’ complementary aerospace engineering capabilities, the combination will create a scaled defense growth platform that accelerates autonomy and expands the applications for Joby’s technology. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory reviews.

Latham & Watkins LLP represents Joby Aviation in the transaction with a corporate deal team led by Bay Area partner Tessa Bernhardt, with associates Peter Bassine, Anuj Ezekiel, Diego Guimaraes Blandon, Alvin Vo, and Eugene Yang. Advice was also provided on capital markets matters by Orange County/Bay Area partner Ross McAloon, with associates Rachel Staub, Tony Noh, and Brice Stewart; on government contracts matters by Washington, D.C. partner Kyle Jefcoat, with associate Megan Rohn; on export controls matters by Washington, D.C. partners Andrew Galdes and Les Carnegie, with associate Monica Calce; on regulatory and foreign direct investment matters by Washington, D.C. partner Paul Rosen and Washington, D.C. counsel Zachary Eddington, with associate Stephen Keith; on benefits matters by Bay Area partner Jay Metz and Washington, D.C. counsel Richard Nettles, with associate Jennifer Lin; on tax matters by Bay Area partner Grace Lee, with associate Jacob Meninga; on representations and warranties insurance matters by Los Angeles partner Harrison White, with associate Enrique Covarrubias; on data and technology transactions matters by Bay Area counsel Arielle Singh, with associates Julian Savelski, Karen Lee, and Wes Dantzler; on intellectual property litigation matters by Bay Area partner Richard Frenkel and New York partner Rachel Blitzer, with associate Sophia Lam; on data privacy and cybersecurity matters by Houston partner Robert Brown, with associate Zac Alpert; on finance matters by Los Angeles partner Mark Morris, with associates Alexis Frese and Rychelle Andersen; on US antitrust matters by Bay Area partner Joshua Holian and New York/Washington, D.C. counsel Jamie Sadler, with associates Bernie Archbold and Suhansi Perera; on ex-US antitrust matters by Brussels partner Tomas Nilsson, Hamburg partner Jana Dammann de Chapto, and London partner Stephanie Adams, with associate James Mathieson; on anti-bribery and anti-corruption matters by Washington, D.C. partner Daniel Dominguez, with associate Heather Artinian; on labor and employment matters by New York partner Sandra Benjamin, with associates Alexis Grinstead and Lauren Stark; and on environmental matters by Orange County partner Christopher Norton, with associate Brian McCall.