The Ljubljana-based geographic information system (GIS) company Sinergise will be acquired by Planet, the San Francisco-based operator of the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Pending certain closing conditions, the transaction is to be completed in the second quarter of Planet's current fiscal year, which started in February, the companies announced on 30 March.

Sinergise has developed Sentinel Hub, a solution that significantly reduces the time it takes between the satellite taking an image and the image being available for use.

A key part of the hub is the Earth Observation (EO) Browser, an open-access tool for people to browse and compare full resolution satellite images from the data collections over long periods of time.

The Sentinel Hub enables businesses, governments and farmers to transform their management practices. "These data sources and distribution services allow governments and agricultural companies to visualize and analyse a variety of data products at an unprecedented speed," the companies said.

"The technology at Sinergise is first class," Will Marshall, CEO and co-founder of Planet, was quoted as saying in the press release. Planet's integration with Sentinel Hub "will meaningfully accelerate our Earth Data Platform plans," he added.

Grega Milčinski, co-founder of Sinergise, said the company was "thrilled to integrate our technologies to together build a powerful Earth Data Platform to unlock the full potential for EO data ... Partnering with Planet over the years has inspired us to accelerate the adoption of EO driven applications at scale."

The companies have been cooperating as partners since 2016.

The news comes a few months after Sinergise, which has a staff of around 80, signed a EUR 150 million project with the European Commission and the European Space Agency (ESA) to set up a storage, processing and data distribution system for Earth observation.