GoPro has agreed to be acquired by Starman Optical, an American optical and photonics company, in an all-cash merger valued at $285 million, ending years of financial difficulty for the action camera pioneer while leaving it as a publicly listed entity.

Under the terms of the deal, Starman Optical will pay GoPro shareholders $1.14 per share. Existing shareholders will retain approximately 10% of the newly combined company, and GoPro's outstanding debt of $92 million will be cleared as part of the transaction. The merger is expected to close before the end of 2026.

Starman Optical is part of Starman Holdings, which owns consumer technology brands including Incase, Incipio, and Griffin. Its subsidiary Starman New Photonics, incorporated in 2025, is building a manufacturing facility in New Jersey focused on optical transceivers and photonics technologies.

As per a report by TechCrunch, Charles Tebele, chief executive of Starman Holdings, said in a statement that the combination of GoPro's optical expertise and intellectual property with Starman's manufacturing platform created an opportunity to bring production of critical components back to the United States.

GoPro said the merged company will continue to support its existing consumer products while also expanding into commercial and defence markets. Founder and chief executive Nick Woodman said the deal would enable growth across those three areas as a leading American imaging and optical solutions company.

The announcement comes after a turbulent recent period for GoPro. In June, the company warned it may go out of business without new funding, and the following month Woodman personally invested $20 million to keep operations running. YouTuber Markiplier recently disclosed he had built an 8.5% stake in the company in the days before the merger was announced.