Blackstone has announced that funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DarkVision Technologies Inc. from Koch Engineered Solutions (KES), a business unit of Koch, Inc. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia, DarkVision develops advanced ultrasound imaging technologies for the inspection of critical industrial infrastructure. The company serves customers across global industrial and energy markets with a portfolio of high-resolution inspection solutions designed to assess asset integrity, identify defects, and support infrastructure risk evaluation.
From a non-destructive testing (NDT) perspective, DarkVision has developed technologies spanning the entire ultrasound imaging workflow, including imaging sensors, proprietary silicon chips, artificial intelligence (AI) models for defect identification and quantification, and software capable of converting large volumes of ultrasonic inspection data into photorealistic three-dimensional images. The company employs approximately 300 people.
Commenting on the acquisition, Darius Sepassi, Senior Managing Director, and Danny Brennan, Managing Director, at Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said: “As demand for aging existing and in-development critical energy infrastructure rises, the need for platforms like DarkVision that improve production efficiency and prevent asset downtime has never been greater. The company’s strong reputation for innovation and customer service, coupled with a growing portfolio of proprietary and cutting-edge technologies, helps enhance the safety, maintenance and resilience of critical assets. We are excited to partner with Stephen, Graham, and DarkVision's management team to support the next phase of growth.”
David Foley, Global Head of Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, said: “DarkVision is exactly the type of business we look to back: a market-leading company built by exceptional entrepreneurial founders, with differentiated technology and strong customer relationships. Blackstone’s resources and experience across industrial and energy markets well positions us to support DarkVision as Stephen, Graham, and the management team continue to innovate and scale the platform.”
Stephen Robinson, CEO & Founder of DarkVision, said: “Our high bar for innovation and first principles approach has allowed us to build highly disruptive and differentiated products that deliver enormous value to customers, leading to rapid market adoption. We’re still at the early stages of our journey and are excited about the opportunities ahead as we keep building more advanced generations of ultrasound technology. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Blackstone as we continue to advance our vision of becoming the global leader in non-destructive testing.”
Dave Dotson, President of Koch Engineered Solutions, said: “Since joining KES, DarkVision has continued to advance its innovative inspection technologies while expanding its capabilities to help operators make the best decisions about some of their most critical assets. We are grateful to the entire DarkVision team for their vision and partnership and are confident the company is well positioned for continued growth under Blackstone's ownership.”
According to the announcement, Blackstone Energy Transition Partners plans to support DarkVision's continued product development and expansion as demand grows for advanced inspection technologies that improve infrastructure safety, operational reliability, maintenance, and production efficiency across industrial and energy sectors.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions. Stifel and Guggenheim Securities acted as financial advisors to Blackstone, while Kirkland & Ellis and Bennett Jones served as its legal advisors. Evercore acted as financial advisor to DarkVision, with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin serving as the company's legal advisor.
