The IPO Buzz: Drone Maker Aevex (AVEX Proposed) Reveals Terms for $312 Million IPO

Aevex Corp. (AVEX Proposed), a drone manufacturer and U.S. Department of War contractor, launched its $312 million IPO early today to price next week. Aevex is offering 16 million shares at a price range of $18.00 to $21.00 to raise $312 million, if the IPO is priced at $19.50, the mid-point of its range, according to its S-1/A filing dated April 9, 2026. At pricing, Aevex would have a market cap of $2.18 billion – if priced at $19.50, the mid-point of its range. This is a New York Stock Exchange listing.

Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and Jefferies are the joint lead book-runners.

Bankers plan to price the Aevex IPO next week. (Please see our IPO Calendar for the pricing date.)

Madison Dearborn Partners, a major private equity firm based in Chicago, is the principal shareholder, according to the prospectus. After the IPO, Madison Dearborn Partners will control the company through its ownership of 79.1 percent of the combined voting power of its outstanding stock.

Aevex, based in Solana Beach, California, makes drones and software – unmanned aerial systems (“UxS”) – sold to the U.S. Department of War, Special Operations Forces, the intelligence community and allied international partners, according to the prospectus.

“Our UxS portfolio is underpinned by our proprietary AI-based CompassX sensor-fusion engine, which delivers assured positioning, navigation, and timing (“APNT”) and advanced onboard autonomy in GPS-denied environments,” the prospectus said.

The company said it has “over 10,200 systems delivered and committed through the end of 2026 to operational environments that validate our battlefield effectiveness.”

Aevex is not profitable. For the year that ended Dec. 31, 2025, Aevex reported a net loss of $16.78 million on revenue of $432.93 million, according to financial statements in the prospectus.

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