The acquisition beat goes on in the wireless equipment sector with several companies recently announcing purchases of other players.
The increasing number of mergers is not surprising given the specific, still-developing sectors in which many of them are occurring, according to Ray Jodoin, director of infrastructure at ABI Research. “These are areas where people can make a run at it,” said Jodoin.
Among the recent acquisitions:
c Agere Systems Inc. said it acquired TeraBlaze Inc., which makes a switch on a chip, in a stock transaction of approximately 6.92 million shares valued at about $21 million. Agere last August acquired Massana, a privately held provider of gigabit Ethernet physical layer device solutions, and developed TruePHY technology. Agere now plans to combine TeraBlaze’s technology with its TruePHY line of gigabit Ethernet products to deliver highly integrated PHY and switch solutions in the second half of 2004. All of TeraBlaze’s 16 employees, including Shankar Mukherjee, TeraBlaze founder and chief executive officer, will join Agere.
c PCTEL announced it paid $20 million for Maxrad, which makes antennas for broadband wireless, in-building wireless and land mobile radio applications. The acquired company said it had $18 million in revenues in 2003. In 2002, PCTEL acquired cyberPixie, which developed client and infrastructure software for roaming between hot spots, and in 2003, PCTEL acquired DTI, a designer and distributor of software-defined radio solutions for test, measurement, and wireless intelligence applications.
c Radian Communication Services Corp., a subsidiary of Canada-based Onex Corp., acquired telecommunications equipment provider Rohn Industries Inc. in a transaction valued at $7.9 million. Rohn was earlier expected to be purchased for $8.75 million by Platinum Equity L.L.C., but that deal fell apart in early 2003, and Rohn instead said it would pursue a financial restructuring plan. According to Radian, Rohn’s products complement Radian’s existing line of towers and tower accessories and bolster Radian’s footprint in the United States. With the acquisition, Radian will also provide its maintenance and installation services to current owners of Rohn products, and David Brinker, previously head of Rohn’s engineering group, will join Radian.
c Hutton Communications Inc. acquired Sinclair Technologies Inc.’s Sinclabs business unit, which distributes radio-frequency products. The value of the deal was not disclosed. “The sale of Sinclabs to Hutton allows us to focus on our core business-the design and manufacture of high-quality antenna and filter systems,” said David Ralston, president and CEO of Sinclair Technologies. Sinclair also said the agreement marks its final shift from a direct sales model to a channel-focused distribution structure.
Other acquisitions announced recently include:
c Infowave Software will acquire enterprise mobility application provider Telispark for $8.4 million. Telispark has deployed field service, asset management and inventory management applications for large enterprises, including Shell Oil, the U.S. Navy and Hydro One. The buy will give Infowave, which sells mobile e-mail and infrastructure products to carriers and businesses, a bigger enterprise play, according to Michael Blumberg with D.F. Blumberg Associates, a management consulting firm.
c Prism Systems International Inc. said it purchased the Prism one-way paging products business from TGA Technologies Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Prism said it will score TGA’s Prism Message Gateway Paging, Voicemail, Email Systems, PFE Encoders and SNAP Email Systems. TGA in November said it would separate into TGA Systems Inc., which will serve the traditional one-way paging market, and TGA Technologies Inc., which will sell its Sparkgap products for the emerging two-way paging and government markets. TGA was one of several companies to fill the void left by Glenayre Technologies Inc. when it withdrew from the paging market.
c Telecommunication Services Inc. (TSI) acquired London-based Softwright Solutions Ltd., which develops software products and services for mobile operators and enterprise customers. The company provides mobile number portability services throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, as TSI has done recently in the United States.
c AirNet Wireless Inc., developer of fixed wireless communications services for Central and South America and the Caribbean, purchased American & International Phone Inc. and Quality Communications Products Inc. in a transaction valued at $18 million, and changed its name to AIT Wireless Inc. “In addition to offering our customers network infrastructure, we will now be able to offer a turnkey solution, servicing customers in the U.K., Grenada, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Panama and Somalia,” said Frank Estill, the combined company’s president.
c Mobile Reach International Inc. completed its acquisition of Waves Consulting Group Inc. making it “one of the top mid-market technology companies to offer end-to-end business solutions for the mobile workforce.” The combined company is 40 employees strong with annual revenue for 2004 projected to be more than $5 million.
