Akasol, Kleos Space, Palantir - The gold of the future!

Kleos Space - the share with massive leverage!

The stock market value of the US data analysis specialist Palantir is currently EUR 45.5 billion. Although the US Company has been in the black for three quarters, profits are still negligible. What is more critical for companies like Palantir is, on the one hand, growth and, on the other, the clientele. Here, one can find the crème de la crème in both the public and private sectors.

The Australian Company Kleos Space also wants to move in this direction. The market capitalization of the specialist for "new space technology," which has its headquarters in Luxembourg, is currently around EUR 60 million. Kleos Space's model is to launch nanosatellites into space to scan the Earth for radio frequency signals for geolocation. The Company is a pioneer in the application of RF technology from space. The highly sensitive data the Australians are generating will be offered to customers on a subscription model. The Company will use the data to identify illicit activities on the world's oceans, such as fishing in foreign waters or pirate movements that are otherwise difficult to detect, including crime detection in drug, weapons and human smuggling. Interested customers include government agencies and shipping companies, as well as the military, of course.

Kleos Space could indeed take a similar development as the "big brother" Palantir. The share is tradable in Germany as well as on its home stock exchange in Sydney. The share price is EUR 0.39. At First Berlin Equity Research, the analysts issued an update on Kleos Space on February 3 with a "buy" rating and a price target of AUD 1.15, equivalent to EUR 0.74.

Akasol - Would you like a little more?

At EUR 124.50, the Akasol share price is above the announced takeover price of EUR 120.0. The buyer of the Hessians is to be the US automotive supplier BorgWarner. Akasol was founded in 2008 and produces lithium-ion battery systems for buses, trains, trucks, industrial vehicles and ships. Customers of the still loss-making but fast-growing Company include Daimler, Alstom and Volvo.

The deal is expected to go through for EUR 730 million, which corresponds to a price per share of EUR 120. The purchase offer is thus a quarter above the average level of the past three months. Since Akasol founder and Group CEO Sven Schulz, who holds around 47% of the shares, and other founders will sell their shares, the US group has already secured 59% of Akasol's stock. This means that the minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share set by BorgWarner has already been reached. According to company information, both the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board have already given their approval.

Palantir - it's all about the sausage

Palantir Technologies is a privately held US provider of software and services specializing in analyzing large amounts of data, so-called Big Data. Founded in 2004, the Company's first customers included the US intelligence agency, the CIA. Since then, Palantir has grown its customer base among state and local governments, and the Company serves commercial enterprises in the financial and pharmaceutical sectors. The Company's operations are controversial because it stores and links vast amounts of data. Now, on Tuesday, we are eagerly awaiting the Q4 figures of the Company, financed by star investor Peter Thiel. Earnings of USD 0.02 per share and revenue of USD 301 million are expected. That would be the third consecutive quarter of official positive earnings numbers for the startup.

On a side note, Palantir is planning its European site in Altendorf in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Chaos Computer Club has now criticized this. In an interview with SRF, Hernani Marques, spokesman for CCC Switzerland, said that the "lax" Swiss data protection law was one reason for locating here. Fines for data breaches are too low compared to the EU, he said, and in Switzerland, you can lose data "quite cheaply."

Moreover, the settlement of a Company like Palantir would also damage Switzerland's reputation as a technology hub. As a location for privacy-friendly solutions, Switzerland has much more to gain than playing "deputy sheriff to the US," Marques said. Palantir became known primarily for its close cooperation with US security agencies and intelligence services.