Perth defence technology company Overwatch Technologies is raising A$8 million in an initial public offering at 20 cents a share, ahead of a planned ASX listing on 16 October 2026, according to its prospectus and reporting by Business News Australia and Grafa.
Overwatch uses drones to find vessels that switch off their transponders at sea, a tactic used by so called dark fleets to avoid monitoring. The float puts a small defence company in front of public market investors with its value resting on government contracts that have been signed but not yet delivered.
How it works
Overwatch flies autonomous drones that detect, map and track radio frequency emissions coming off vessels, which allows it to locate ships even when their location broadcasts are turned off. It does not build the drones itself. The company holds an exclusive Indo-Pacific licence from Polus Tech for its RF sensing payloads and drone platforms.
The customers
The company has two government customers, whose names are confidential. It has A$3.8 million in contracted work, of which A$2.88 million has been invoiced and A$1.88 million received in cash, according to the prospectus.
No revenue has been recognised yet. Amounts invoiced and received sit on the balance sheet as a contract liability until the work is delivered, at which point they can be booked as revenue.
The float
The offer comprises 40 million new shares at 20 cents each, giving an indicative market capitalisation of about A$26.7 million, Grafa reported. Euroz Hartleys and CPS Capital Group are joint lead managers. Funds raised are earmarked for technology development and growing the company’s defence and security intelligence operations.
Overwatch is led by executive chair Harry Karelis and managing director Oscar Leslie, who co-founded the business with Nathan Munn and Niv Karmi.
What to watch
The key question for the company after listing is how quickly its contracted and invoiced work converts into recognised revenue, and whether it can add customers beyond its first two government clients.
Jack’s take
It looks scary on paper, with no revenue recognised. But two governments have signed and A$2.88 million has been invoiced, and for a company valued at about A$26.7 million that is the part I would pay attention to. Whether it turns into recognised revenue is the thing to watch. This is information, not financial advice.