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07 Sep 18. PrecisionHawk Acquires HAZON and InspecTools. PrecisionHawk, Inc., a provider of drone technology for the enterprise, has announced that it has purchased both HAZON, Inc. and InspecTools Inc. These businesses specialize in the delivery of inspection services and technology for the energy industry and bring demonstrated domain expertise to enable tighter integration between the collection and the analysis of drone data. Both Paul Bingaman, CEO InspecTools, and David Culler, CEO HAZON, will join PrecisionHawk’s executive leadership team. HAZON brings extensive aviation experience, standards-based operating procedures, certified drone flight operations and inspection services, widely regarded as the best in the energy industry, to the PrecisionHawk team. The company has delivered over 13,000 inspections totalling over 8,000 hours of flight time, with a majority focused in energy markets for Fortune 500 utilities. InspecTools brings high-fidelity machine vision software and data analysis tools built for the renewable energy market. Their market-leading software for both solar panel and wind turbine inspection is utilized by some of the largest equipment manufacturers and service providers in the world. Customers like Vestas, PG&E, and SMA Solar rely on InspecTools’ sophisticated reporting, analytics and machine learning capabilities.
“We’re very pleased to bring together the established technology and multi-market reputation of HAZON and InspecTools with PrecisionHawk’s experience, team and expanded portfolio,” said Michael Chasen, CEO of PrecisionHawk. “By combining these offerings, our customers will have access to extensive and leading-edge energy products and services, regulatory expertise and a record of safe, secure and compliant operations.”
Thanks to advances in technology and regulations, the energy market has quickly moved from experimenting with pilot projects to large scale deployment of drone solutions. Across distribution lines, transmission lines, solar panels, wind turbines, oil and gas and utility infrastructure, and emergency response – energy presents a current global market opportunity of $9.7bn. According to IDC, worldwide spending on robotics and drones will accelerate over the next four years reaching $201.3bn in 2022. While the value is clear across time, safety improvements and operational efficiency, scaling and managing a drone program can be complex.
“HAZON is excited to bring our world-class best practices and reputation for standards-based operations and safety to the PrecisionHawk team,” commented HAZON CEO David A. Culler, Jr. CAPT, USN (ret.). “By joining PrecisionHawk, our customers gain access to the next level of technological sophistication for more scalable, predictive and cost-efficient drone solutions that drive better business intelligence.”
InspecTools CEO, Paul Bingaman said: “InspectTools brings years of experience, analytics tools and machine vision software for renewable energy that is an immediate value-add to PrecisionHawk’s software analytics platform. This relationship further enhances the technologies and services that are fundamental to advancing the economic potential of drones in the energy market.”
Through investments and strategic business partnerships, PrecisionHawk continues to drive innovation with its best-in-class technology solutions and remains the world’s most well-capitalized commercial drone company. With a broad vision to take businesses airborne, its drone-based solutions strengthen the entire data value chain adding efficiency, insights and safety. The acquisition of HAZON and InspecTools underscores PrecisionHawk’s strategy to operate in high-growth markets and accelerate the adoption of commercial drones. The acquisitions, which are subject to customary closing conditions, are expected to close later this month. (Source: UAS VISION)
06 Sep 18. Brazil judge rules defense council must assess Embraer deal: report. A Brazilian judge ruled that President Michel Temer must convene a council of military representatives and politicians to analyze planemaker Embraer SA’s (EMBR3.SA) deal with Boeing Co (BA.N), newspaper Valor Economico said on its website on Thursday. The so-called National Defense Council is comprised of the heads of the House and the Senate; the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force; the vice president; and several cabinet ministers. The judge argued that Brazilians would not be determine a decision taken solely by an Embraer shareholder assembly given that the planemaker’s main shareholders are foreign investment firms, the paper said, citing a court decision. Judge Victorio Giuzio Neto did not issue any decision on a motion filed by congressmen from the leftist Workers’ Party requesting the end of negotiations between Embraer and Boeing. Embraer and the court did not immediately comment on the matter. (Source: glstrade.com/Reuters)
06 Sep 18. Melrose/GKN: Simon says relax. The buyout chief is soothing nerves over the impact of the £8bn purchase Simon Peckham’s ‘keep calm and carry on’ message did the trick with investors. There are few surer ways of alarming someone than telling them there is no cause for alarm. It is a phrase favoured by siege negotiators, pilots of stalling airliners and UK premier Theresa May. Investors could be forgiven the urge to breathe into a paper bag on hearing it from Melrose Industries. Earlier this year the UK-listed private equity group won a £8bn battle to buy GKN, an engineer almost double its size. On Thursday, Melrose announced it had slumped to a £303m first-half loss. Simon Peckham told investors there was nothing to worry about. Surprisingly, this worked. The shares rose 3 per cent. There were two main reasons. First, a chief executive’s reassurance actually matters here. The purchase was hostile. This not only made the deal unpopular with some politicians. It also meant proper due diligence was impossible. With GKN in their perspiring mitts, Melrose’s multi-millionaire bosses have found “no black holes”. None of GKN’s factories are fictional and the group lacks hefty undisclosed liabilities. Second, Melrose’s multi-layered numbers point to business as usual rather than an M&A train wreck. Start with the statutory loss. The period only included 73 days of GKN’s trading, but all the deal costs. Fees, mostly to banks such as NM Rothschild, were £67m. That is steep, at almost 1 per cent of the deal size. Steeper still at £253m, if you include stamp duty and GKN’s abortive defence costs. Market failures in banking aside, the loss reflected non-cash gyrations. Pro forma profits before tax were £401m, compared with a combined figure of £600m last time. GKN has been doing badly. This was the reason investors gave control to Melrose. Following the sound and fury of the bid, that is all that has really changed. Melrose’s market worth of £10.8bn is just £600m ahead of the combined total before the bid. Net debt is £1.2bn higher, more than twice ebitda. Melrose needs to whittle that down, even as it raises GKN’s operating margins from 7 per cent to more than 10 per cent. It has done the same several times before, albeit at smaller scale. A sale could be five or more years away. Meanwhile, Melrose has tariff wars and a possible economic correction to contend with. Both could hit GKN, whose driveline business depends heavily on car sales. When pop group Frankie Goes to Hollywood said “Relax” back in the eighties, a market crash was brewing. But do not let that alarm you. (Source: FT.com)
06 Sep 18. Safran: great Leap forward. Good news from the French engine maker helped push the shares up 7%. More time in the air, fewer delays at the gate, better fuel efficiency. What’s not to like about the whizzy new jet engine co-made by Safran of France? Nervous investors focus on the risks. The boldness implied by the engine’s name, Leap, does not reassure. Teething problems that left customers irked by production delays have underlined their fears. On Thursday, there was reassurance from Safran — an equal partner with General Electric in CFM, the world’s biggest supplier of engines for narrow-body passenger jets. Leap deliveries almost tripled in the first half of the year. Production should be back on schedule before the year end. The good news — coupled with better than expected profits— helped push the shares up 7 per cent on Thursday. Over the past six months, they are up by more than a third. Including dividends, shareholders have tripled their money over the past five years. Some of the recent outperformance is sector-wide. The profitability of jet-making is on the rise — though Safran’s operating profit margins are much higher than those of customers Airbus and Boeing. The exceptions are small suppliers. They are being squeezed. Size matters in aviation. Gaining scale gives suppliers clout when it comes to dealing with customers and their own supply chains. Bigger companies find it easier to meet the demands of their customers, as production gets ramped up to record levels. That was part of the logic behind the €8.7bn acquisition of Zodiac, the French aircraft interiors group, earlier this year. The deal was disliked by many investors. The Children’s Investment Fund — a hedge fund — successfully campaigned for a reduction in the offer price. Safran still has a lot to prove. But so far, the integration is on track. (Source: FT.com)
06 Sep 18. Airbus no longer in talks to sell Premium Aerotec parts subsidiary: report. Airbus SE is no longer in talks to sell a part or all of Premium Aerotec, a subsidiary that makes large plane components, a German newspaper reported on Thursday. Handelsblatt, citing unnamed sources, said there were “too many operational issues” regarding the sale. Airbus said in a statement that its long-term objective for Premium Aerotec remains unchanged. “However, we are in no rush with any divestment process,” Airbus said. Premium Aerotec generates about 2bn euros ($2.32bn) in revenue and employs 10,000 people, according to its website. It specializes in large and complex aircraft components for Airbus, Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, the Eurofighter Typhoon and military transporter A400M. ($1 = 0.8606 euros) (Source: Reuters)
06 Sep 18. Somerset-headquartered Optical components manufacturer Gooch & Housego has acquired a US-based manufacturer of components to the US defence and aerospace industry in a deal worth $16.4m (£12.7m). Gould Technology, which trades as Gould Fiber Optics (GFO), is a specialist in the design, development and manufacture of fibre optic components and sub systems. The company is a major supplier to tier one US Aerospace and Defence customers. The historical annual revenue of GFO was $6.3m (£4.9m), with underlying operating profit at $1.6m (£1.24m). The deal has been funded with a new $40m (£31m) revolving credit facility from RBS.
Mark Webster, chief executive of Gooch & Housego, said: “This acquisition enables us to take another step towards diversifying our business, allows G&H access to previously restricted markets, as well as reducing, still further, the Company’s dependency on what remains a cyclical micro-electronics sector.
“GFO is a high quality business, with a long standing tier 1 Aerospace and Defence customer base, complementary technology and a strong financial track record.
“We are very much looking forward to working with the management, staff and customers of GFO.” (Source: Google/www.insidermedia.com)
06 Sep 18. Melrose Industries PLC: 2018 Half year results announcement. 2018 Half year results announcement. Melrose Industries PLC today announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2018.
Highlights
Proforma results assume that GKN plc (“GKN”) was owned for the full six month period, adjusted results and statutory results only include GKN for the 73 day period from 19 April 2018 when it was acquired by Melrose.
- Melrose is trading in line with the Board’s expectations for 201
- The statutory loss occurred due to booking significant acquisition related charges but only including 73 days of trading from GKN
- The Board has declared an interim dividend of 1.55 pence per share (2017: 1.4 pence), an 11% increase on last year
- GKN offers an outstanding opportunity which is meeting the Board’s expectations; no black holes found
- All GKN businesses are being managed successfully on a standalone basis, freed from head office bureaucracy and with medium and long-term improvement plans agreed
- Significant investment projects in development including:
o planned new global technology centre for Aerospace in the UK
o substantial automotive factory improvements in Europe
o state-of-the-art aerospace engine repair facility in Asia
- Whilst trading conditions in some Nortek businesses are competitive, new breakthrough technologies with exciting prospects have been developed
- Net debt is in line with expectations at £3.4bn, with Group half year leverage being 2.4x EBITDA3
- Proforma results, which are presented on an adjusted basis, are described in the glossary to the Interim Financial Statements and assume that GKN was owned for the full period
- Considered by the Board to be a key measure of performance. The adjusted results are described in the glossary to the Interim Financial Statements
- Last 12 months proforma¹ operating profit before depreciation and amortisation
Christopher Miller, Chairman of Melrose Industries PLC, today said: “Melrose is delighted with the acquisition of GKN, which has the significant potential for improvement which we identified when we made our offer. Plans have been agreed and are now being implemented to realise the full potential of GKN’s world leading, but currently underdeveloped, businesses. This is an exciting opportunity for Melrose, its shareholders and all other stakeholders.”
06 Sep 18. Melrose reports significant progress with GKN reorganisation. Melrose gave no details of plans to break up GKN following reports that it was looking to auction off the power metallurgy division
Melrose’s hostile bid to buy GKN became unconditional in April
Melrose Industries PLC (LON:MRO) has reported “significant progress” with the revamp of GKN since its hostile takeover of the engineer in April.
In its results for the first six months of the year, the turnaround specialist said it has reduced central functions and agreed strategic plans to improve GKN’s businesses, which include aerospace, automotive and power metallurgy divisions.
READ: Melrose reportedly already looking to break up GKN with £2bn sale of Powder Met division
“Melrose is delighted with the acquisition of GKN, which has the significant potential for improvement which we identified when we made our offer,” said chairman Christopher Miller.
“Plans have been agreed and are now being implemented to realise the full potential of GKN’s world leading, but currently underdeveloped, businesses.”
However, Melrose gave no details of plans to break up GKN. Melrose is reportedly looking to auction off GKN’s power metallurgy division this month and weighing options for its off-highway powertrain unit and wheels business.
The group reported statutory revenue of £2.9bn for the first half, up from £1.1bn last year, but swung to a statutory pre-tax loss of £303mln from a pre-tax profit of £47.8mln due to costs related to the GKN acquisition. On a proforma basis, which includes GKN results, revenue came to £6.2bn and pre-tax profit came to £307m.
Melrose declared an interim dividend of 1.55p per share, up 11% on last year. (Source: proactiveinvestors.co.uk)
05 Sep 18. StackRox Announces Strategic Investment and Technology Development Agreement with In-Q-Tel (IQT). StackRox, a leader in security for containerized, cloud-native applications, today announced a strategic investment and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel (IQT), the independent, not-for-profit strategic investor that identifies and accelerates the development and delivery of innovative technology solutions to support the mission of U.S. government agencies. The StackRox Container Security Platform protects containerized applications across their life cycle. The software discovers the entire container environment, ensures assets adhere to an organization’s security policies, and identifies and stops malicious actors. The platform is the first integrated, full life cycle solution for container security that incorporates a feedback loop between the different life cycle phases. Leveraging this information enables the StackRox platform to provide continuous improvement in security.
“The StackRox platform uses a fundamentally different approach to secure containers across their life cycle, from build to runtime, which will help protect our Intelligence Community partners against emerging container-based threats,” said George Hoyem, Managing Partner, Investments at IQT. “Given the increasing use of containers and microservices in our community, this technology is crucial for securing critical IT infrastructure without slowing innovation.”
The StackRox container security platform lets organizations:
- Reduce the attack surface: StackRox enforces service-centric deployment policies on vulnerabilities and configurations in images, running containers, container runtime, and orchestrator settings to mandate fixes during the build phase.
- Profile runtime risk: StackRox prioritizes the most critical container security issues to address, using a broad set of factors including orchestrator settings, network segmentation policies, secrets, container configuration, and other metrics to profile risk.
- Detect and respond to threats: StackRox leverages continuous machine learning to adapt its understanding of your container environment and avoid false positives and false negatives, and organizations can also select response options such as integrating alerts with existing security tools and killing containers.
“We’re excited to launch this partnership with IQT,” said Ali Golshan, CEO and co-founder of StackRox. “As in the commercial sector, the Intelligence Community relies on containers to increase efficiency and pace of innovation. IQT’s deep roots in and broad access to government agencies provides the perfect entrée for the StackRox platform to help secure those critical container environments.”
About In-Q-Tel
In-Q-Tel (IQT) is the not-for-profit strategic investor that accelerates the development and delivery of cutting-edge technologies to U.S. government agencies that keep our nation safe. IQT was established in 1999 with a distinct mission: to identify and partner with startup companies developing innovative technologies that protect and preserve our nation’s security. Visit www.iqt.org for more information.
About StackRox
StackRox helps organizations secure their containerized, cloud-native applications at scale. The StackRox Container Security Platform enables security teams to discover the full container environment and ensure they adhere to security policies, and it detects and stops malicious activity. The platform incorporates a feedback loop between the different container life cycle phases, enabling continuous improvement in security. StackRox customers span Global 2000 enterprises, including in financial services, technology, and E-Commerce industries, as well as government agencies. StackRox is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California, with 100% of its R&D based in the United States. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
05 Sep 18. Thales and Gemalto are granted Regulatory Clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Reference is made to the joint press release by Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) and Gemalto (Euronext Amsterdam and Paris: GTO) dated 27 March 2018 in relation to the launch of the recommended all-cash offer by Thales for all the issued and outstanding shares of Gemalto (the “Offer”), the publication of the Offer Document, and the joint press release of Thales and Gemalto dated 10 August 2018 in relation to the further extension of the Acceptance Period. Terms not defined in this press release will have the meaning as set forth in the Offer Document. Thales and Gemalto today announce that they have received Regulatory Clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Together with the antitrust clearances obtained in China, Israel and Turkey, and clearances relating to foreign investments in Australia and Canada, Thales and Gemalto have obtained 6 of the required 14 Regulatory Clearances. Thales and Gemalto continue to work constructively with the competent antitrust authorities to obtain the remaining Regulatory Clearances in Australia, for the European Union, in Mexico, in New Zealand, in Russia, in South Africa and in the United States. In addition, Thales and Gemalto are seeking Regulatory Clearance relating to foreign investments from the competent authority in Russia. As expected, the transaction should close shortly after all of the Regulatory Clearances have been secured which should occur before the end of 2018. Further announcements will be made if and when a Regulatory Clearance has been obtained or the Offer Condition with respect to Regulatory Clearances is satisfied, waived or has become incapable of being satisfied, or as otherwise required by applicable law. As announced on 10 August 2018, the Acceptance Period has been further extended by Thales in accordance with an exemption granted by the Dutch financial markets authority (AFM) and will end two weeks after the fulfilment of the Offer Condition with respect to Regulatory Clearances or the waiver thereof (but no later than the Long Stop Date).
04 Sep 18. Transcat Acquires Angel’s Instrumentation Inc. Acquisition expands geographic presence to Virginia and broadens industrial on-site calibration capabilities. Transcat, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRNS) (“Transcat” or the “Company”), a leading provider of accredited calibration, repair, inspection and laboratory instrument services and value-added distributor of professional grade handheld test, measurement and control instrumentation, announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Angel’s Instrumentation Inc. (“Angel’s Instrumentation” or “AI”), effective August 31, 2018. The purchase price was $4.7m and is subject to certain customary holdback provisions. Established in 2000, AI provides in-house and on-site calibrations nationally to the manufacturing and maritime industries from its Chesapeake, Virginia calibration laboratory. With approximately $4m in annual revenue, AI’s comprehensive service offerings include RF & electronic test equipment, physical, dimensional, thermal, flow and torque calibrations. AI is accredited by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (“A2LA”) in accordance with the recognized International Standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, and also meets the requirements of ANSI/NCSLI Z540-1-1994 and the requirements of ANSI/NCSLI Z540.3-2006 and R205.
“Angel’s Instrumentation is a good strategic fit for us as it strengthens our position in the mid-Atlantic region and expands our customer base. We also plan to leverage our national footprint to lower AI’s cost of service to its national customers,” commented Lee D. Rudow, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transcat. “Importantly, Angel’s Instrumentation shares our deep commitment to quality and customer service and we welcome the entire team to the Transcat family.” (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
04 Sep 18. Chemring Group PLC (“Chemring” or “the Group”) today issues an update on trading for the four month period from 1 May to 31 August 2018.
Update on CCM Incident
Following the incident on 10 August at our CCM facility in Salisbury, our injured colleague remains in hospital recovering from his injuries. The Group is committed to supporting him and his family throughout his recovery, along with the family of our colleague who tragically lost his life in the incident. The investigation into the incident, which occurred in an MTV flare mixing building at the Group’s Salisbury site in the UK, is ongoing and the Group is working closely with the regulatory bodies to determine the root cause. We are also working with the regulatory bodies on the UK CCM site restart plan. The initial steps of this plan will be to complete the shipment of finished goods inventory and initiate a phased restart of non-MTV product lines. The impact on the Group’s underlying operating profit in the current financial year is likely to be around the middle of the range of £10m – £20m indicated in the statement made on 13 August.
The Group is still assessing the impact on the 2019 financial year which will be dependent on the site restart plan, as agreed with the regulatory bodies, and expected production rates. The Group is accelerating the transition to more automated MTV production facilities, which will improve operational effectiveness.
The Group has engaged with its insurers, but at this stage it is too early to assess the amount of any claim or the likely timing of any payments. The Group’s property damage and business interruption insurance policy has a deductible of £2.5m, an overall policy limit of £60m and a twelve-month indemnity period for business interruption claims.
Countermeasures
The period has seen positive customer demand, resulting in £78m of orders received. The majority of orders were from the US Government for a range of requirements including spectral, infrared and special material decoys, which are manufactured at the Group’s US CCM facilities. This provides strong order book coverage for our 2019 financial year.
Sensors
In Sensors, the Group is pleased to announce that it has received a number of significant awards in the period. In the counter-IED market, Chemring Sensors and Electronic Systems (CSES) has been awarded a $93m, three-year IDIQ to refurbish and refresh the US DOD’s fleet of Husky Mounted Detection Systems (HMDS). The initial award under this IDIQ contract is for $20m for delivery in the first year of the contract. CSES has also been awarded a $14m incrementally funded Research and Development contract for the HMDS.
In the biological detection market, CSES has also been awarded an IDIQ contract for the Enhanced Maritime Biological Detection (EMBD) program. The scope of work under this Delivery Order includes Engineering, Manufacturing, and Development (EMD) with options for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP). The total contract value, including options, is $24m with the initial award under this IDIQ contract being $13.6m, with an initial delivery order of $5m.
In the chemical detection market, CSES has been notified that it was not one of the selected bidders to move to the next stage of the third stream of the Next Generation Chemical Detector (NGCD3) now known as the Multi Phase Chemical Agent Detector (MPCAD). An award decision on the first, and largest, stream of the NGCD program, the Aerosol & Vapor Chemical Agent Detector (AVCAD), is expected shortly.
In the UK, Roke was part of the consortium awarded the contract to provide private sector support to the UK MOD’s procurement team in the delivery of the Battlefield Tactical Communication and Information System (BATCIS), the next generation land tactical communications and information system.
Energetics
As expected, in the commoditised pyrotechnic and ammunition market, demand continues to soften. The Group continues to focus on its move away from short-term commodity products to longer-term contracting and partnering agreements in higher margin niche product areas, where the demand for specialist devices and high explosives continues to be robust.
Outlook
Recent contract awards in our Countermeasures and Sensors segments demonstrate both continued customer demand and the progress the Group is making on its roadmap to focus on higher margin, niche market positions where the Group is best placed to generate future value.
With the exception of the impact of the CCM incident, trading across the Group remains in line with the Board’s expectations.
02 Sep 18 Civmec delivers strong results for FY2018. Australia and Singapore-based Civmec has announced a net profit of S$25.5m ($25.7m), representing an increase of more than 200 per cent on the return for FY2017. Civmec commenced FY2018 with a strong order book, further enhancing its position during the year with the broadening of scope on several projects, and the finalisation of the contract to deliver the Royal Australian Navy’s SEA 1180 Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) program in April. Revenue for the year of S$738.7m was more than double that of FY2017 (S$346.0m). Fully diluted earnings per share for FY2018 rose to 5.23 Singapore cents from 1.68 Singapore cents in FY2017, an increase of 211 per cent. Net asset value per share for FY2018 amounted to 37.77 Singapore cents, compared with 34.95 Singapore cents as at 30 June 2017.
Patrick Tallon, Civmec chief executive, said, “On the strength of our client partnerships and performance, we were awarded significant projects and scope increases during the year. In addition, our investment in a new state-of-the-art shipbuilding and ongoing support maintenance facility demonstrates how the company can unlock value from its existing operations.”
Civmec is a multi-disciplinary heavy engineering constructor to the oil and gas, metals and minerals, infrastructure, and defence sectors. Its core capabilities include heavy engineering, modularisation, SMP (structural, mechanical, piping), EIC (electrical, instrumentation and control), precast concrete, shipbuilding, site civil works, industrial insulation, maintenance, offshore logistics, refractory and access solutions.
“I’m extremely pleased with the results of the group in FY18. It demonstrates the strength of our capabilities across all the sectors we operate. Furthermore, we have managed to significantly increase revenue without increasing our corporate overhead,” said Civmec executive chairman James Fitzgerald.
Headquartered in Henderson, Western Australia, Civmec has regional offices in Broome (WA), Darwin (Northern Territory, Newcastle and Sydney (NSW), and Gladstone (Queensland). It also has a presence in Singapore, where it has been listed since 2012.
29 Aug 18. Another Speedcast Acquisition, this Time It’s Globecomm. Speedcast International Limited (ASX: SDA) (“Speedcast”) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Globecomm Systems Inc. (“Globecomm”) from affiliates of HPS Investment Partners, LLC Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC and certain other members of Globecomm for an estimated net purchase consideration of US$135m, including expected purchase price adjustments. Globecomm is a leading provider of remote communications and multi-network infrastructure to Government, Maritime, and Enterprise sectors in over 100 countries. The acquisition strengthens Speedcast’s global competitive position in these sectors by enhancing its current solutions, and complements the recent acquisition of UltiSat — thus doubling Speedcast’s revenue in the Government sector, and adding more scale, visibility and capabilities in this growth market. In addition, Globecomm will benefit from Speedcast’s scale and capabilities in the Maritime and Enterprise markets. Speedcast estimates the company will generate more than US$15m in annual cost synergies within 18 months after the acquisition. The cost synergies are expected to be generated across the business, including through footprint rationalization, network improvements and improved procurement. The acquisition will be funded by a fully underwritten US$175m add-on to Speedcast’s existing seven year senior secured credit facility (due 2025) from the U.S. institutional term loan market, which will also be used to repay a portion of Speedcast’s revolving credit facility and thereby enhance Speedcast’s liquidity position. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2018, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. J.P. Morgan and Jefferies acted as Financial Advisors to Speedcast. Goodwin acted as Legal Advisors to Speedcast. Kirkland and Ellis LLP acted as Legal Advisors to Globecomm.
Executive Comment
Speedcast CEO Pierre-Jean Beylier said that this acquisition of Globecomm is fully in line with the company’s strategy to consolidate the firm’s industry and build competitive advantages based on scale and capabilities. Globecomm is particularly complementary to UltiSat as it strengthens Speedcast’s position serving Government customers at a time when government spending globally is expected to rise. Globecomm has built a strong reputation providing remote communications and professional services to key customers in the Government sector, as well as in the Maritime and Enterprise segments. The Globecomm team is joining Speedcast and they will strengthen the company’s innovation capabilities with new solutions and strong engineering experience, as well as enhancing Speedcast’s system integration propositions. The company expects to drive significant cost and revenue synergy potential from this acquisition, given the strong financial and operational benefits of scale across core verticals.
Jason D. Juranek, CEO, Globecomm, added that the Globecomm team is thrilled to join forces with the global leader in remote communications. This is an exciting development for the company’s employees and customers and they look forward to building new solutions and further enhancing the firm’s customers’ experience with the integrated team. (Source: Satnews)
31 Aug 18. L3 Completes Acquisition of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs. L3 Technologies (NYSE:LLL) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs, two market-leading information security businesses, on August 31, 2018. The acquired companies will operate under L3’s ISR Systems business segment as L3 Trenchant. The closing of the acquisition significantly strengthens L3’s existing C6ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber-Defense and Combat Systems, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) capabilities. L3 Technologies is an agile innovator and leading provider of global ISR, communications and electronic systems for military, homeland security and commercial aviation customers. With headquarters in New York City and approximately 31,000 employees worldwide, L3 develops advanced defense technologies and commercial solutions in pilot training, aviation security, night vision and EO/IR, weapons, maritime systems and space. The company reported 2017 sales of $9.6bn. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
31 Aug 18. Thales and Gemalto are granted Regulatory Clearance from the Competition Board in Turkey. Reference is made to the joint press release by Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) and Gemalto (Euronext Amsterdam and Paris: GTO) dated 27 March 2018 in relation to the launch of the recommended all-cash offer by Thales for all the issued and outstanding shares of Gemalto (the “Offer”), the publication of the Offer Document, and the joint press release of Thales and Gemalto dated 10 August 2018 in relation to the further extension of the Acceptance Period. Terms not defined in this press release will have the meaning as set forth in the Offer Document. Thales and Gemalto today announce that they have received antitrust Regulatory Clearance in Turkey. The decision of the Turkish Competition Board, which was notified today to Thales, is effective as of 27 August 2018. Together with the anti-trust clearance obtained in China and Israel, and clearances relating to foreign investments in Australia and Canada, Thales and Gemalto have obtained 5 of the required 14 Regulatory Clearances.
31 Aug 18. OnRobot: Danish Robot Equipment Flagship Company Acquires Unique Robotics Firm. Within just one year, the new company Purple Robotics has developed an innovative vacuum gripper, the world’s first specifically for cobots. Purple Robotics has now been acquired by OnRobot, one of the truly significant robot industry endeavours. The acquisition takes place a mere two months after the OnRobot merger of three robotics companies from the USA, Hungary, and Denmark to create one global player with a strong focus on the market for industrial robot accessories. Now, OnRobot in Odense, Denmark, adds another trail-blazing technology to the product mix. With the acquisition of the company Purple Robotics, OnRobot can now offer its partners the world’s first dual vacuum gripper. The gripper attracted international robot industry attention when presented by the inventors at Automatica, the world’s largest robotics fair, in Munich in June this year.
Purple Robotics was established by the three Danish ”super-nerds” Lasse Kieffer, Henrik Tillitz Hansen, and Peter Nadolny Madsen, all of whom have a background as product developers at the company behind the world’s first cobot, Universal Robots. And this is the valuable expertise which OnRobot is now fusing with its existing R&D department at their headquarters in Odense. Lasse Kieffer, Purple Robotics CEO, looks forward to joining the OnRobot organisation together with his colleagues.
”It has been really good fun to create a brand new robotics company and to disrupt the market for vacuum grippers with our invention. It makes a lot of sense and creates significant synergy to join forces with OnRobot who have already created a strong, global sales organisation. This means that we can focus 100% on developing the world’s coolest robotics products. Together, we can go far,” says Lasse Kieffer.
Already sold in 25 countries 3 months after launch
Since entering the market, Purple Robotics has experienced a veritable onslaught from partners worldwide wishing to be able to offer the product to their customers. Already three months after launching the product, 40 partners in 25 countries have concluded partnership agreements with Purple Robotics for the patented innovation. The Purple Robotics dual vacuum gripper can, so to speak, give a robot arm two “hands” and thereby the ability to handle several items simultaneously and solving multiple tasks in one movement. Additionally, it has an electric pump integrated in the gripper itself, meaning that users need not worry about hoses, compressed air, and cables as with conventional vacuum gripper solutions. The vacuum gripper meets a clear need in the global industry for efficient and flexible robot solutions which are simple and quick to commission. It takes less than 30 minutes to install the Purple Robotics gripper on a robot and start it up. The vacuum gripper is able to gently and efficiently handle items of many different dimensions, weights, materials, and shapes. The lifting capacity is 10 kilograms and the robot gripper is designed for use on a wide range of light-weight robots from all robot manufacturers.
“It must be easily conceivable to automate even small production batches. Otherwise, robot technology is not a good investment. This is why we hand pick the best and most user-friendly robot products and integrate them in OnRobot. We are extremely pleased to now be able to offer our robot partners and integrators the vacuum gripper, just as we look forward to being able to add the top class Purple Robotics robot developers to our development department,” says Enrico Krog Iversen, CEO at OnRobot.
The acquisition of Purple Robotics means that the Vacuum Gripper will be presented in the USA to robot equipment buyers at the IMTS fair in Chicago during 10-15 September. After the spring merger of the three robotics companies OnRobot, Perception Robotics, and OptoForce, the OnRobot product range now features a wide assortment of robot equipment, including electric grippers, force-moment sensors, gecko grippers, and tactile sensors.
”We are now one step closer to our vision of offering ”one-stop-shopping” for buyers of robot accessories. Purple Robotics will definitely not be our last acquisition. We have our eye on a number of other, interesting companies around the world,” says Enrico Krog Iversen.
OnRobot has also recently welcomed another strong, international investor to the ownership roster – the American venture fund Summit Partners. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
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Odyssey is an independent corporate finance firm which advises on acquisitions, business sales, management buy-outs and raising finance, typically in the £5m to £100m range. We have extensive experience in the niche manufacturing sector with our most recent completed deal being the sale of MacNeillie to Babcock Plc. Details can be seen at: http://www.odysseycf.com/case-study-macneillie/
As a result of this and related projects we have developed relationships with buyers and funders looking to acquire or invest in the sector. We would be happy to share further insights into the sector and to carry out reviews of businesses whose shareholders are considering an exit, acquisition or fundraise.
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