Cobham plc said it has acquired wireless communications systems provider Axell Wireless Limited for up to $130.5 million, expanding its portfolio of antenna products and offerings to the public safety market.
Terms of the deal between the two British companies include an initial $92.1 million payment and a potential $38.4 million earn out provision payable in during 2014 and 2015 based on future performance. Cobham said that it is paying between nine and 10 times Axell’s earnings before income taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Axell had about $61.4 million in sales last year, with about 75 percent of its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the remainder in the Asia Pacific region and the Americas. The company has about 250 employees.
Axell provides Distributed Antenna Systems and wireless solutions for the public safety and cellular markets, focusing on systems for buildings and critical infrastructure. Infrastructure projects include the London Olympic Stadium, the Beijing and Singapore metros, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, the Brisbane Airport tunnel and the Shard London Bridge skyscraper.
Cobham said the deal provide opportunities for both companies to sell products to each other’s respective customer bases and provide more integrated systems offerings.
“Axell operates in an exciting and global growing market, bringing complementary technology to our existing businesses,” Bob Murphy, Cobham’s CEO, said in a statement. “This transaction, following the acquisition of Thrane & Thrane in 2012, represents another step toward achieving our strategic objective of bringing more balance to our portfolio.”
Thrane & Thrane is a Denmark-based satellite communications company.