GoPro to be acquired for $285M, will remain a public company
Optics firm Starman Optical has agreed to merge with financially struggling camera maker GoPro in a deal valued at $285 million, with GoPro also eyeing expansion into defense technology.
Action camera pioneer GoPro, after years of financial struggles, is being acquired in a deal worth $285 million. Starman Optical has agreed to merge with the company.
Under the agreement, Starman Optical will pay GoPro shareholders $1.14 per share, while existing shareholders will retain about 10% of the combined company. The deal, expected to close by the end of this year, will also eliminate GoPro's $92 million in outstanding debt. The merger was announced Tuesday morning.
The announcement comes a few months after GoPro said it was considering a pivot toward defense technology. It was also recently revealed that YouTuber Markiplier had built up an 8.5% stake in GoPro. The companies said the merger aims to maximize the value of GoPro's IP and growth potential across consumer, commercial and defense markets by recapitalizing the company, strengthening its balance sheet, and onshoring manufacturing for strategic markets.
Who is Starman
Starman Optical was only incorporated in Delaware on August 31, while its affiliate Starman New Photonics was created in 2025 and is building a manufacturing facility in New Jersey. Both are part of Starman Holdings, which also owns consumer tech brands including Incase, Incipio and Griffin.
Starman Holdings CEO Charles Tebele said in a statement that advanced optics and imaging are essential to AI, national security and the broader economy, yet much of the related hardware is still manufactured overseas.
GoPro's history
GoPro went public in 2014, when it was selling millions of action cameras a year. It later tried expanding into drones and 360-degree cameras without much success, prompting a refocus on high-performance action cameras for pros and athletes, alongside several rounds of layoffs. In June, GoPro warned shareholders it could go out of business without new funding, and in July founder and CEO Nick Woodman put $20 million into the company to keep it running. Woodman said he expects the merger to let GoPro grow across consumer, commercial and defense markets.
