Curtiss-Wright [CW] on Thursday said it has agreed to acquire Pacific Star Communications, Inc.
(PacStar) for $400 million in cash, adding battlefield tactical networking equipment and solutions to its capabilities.
The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2020 subject to regulatory approvals.
PacStar, which is based in Oregon, has about 145 employees and is expected to have more than $120 million in sales this year. Curtiss-Wright expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusting per share earnings in the first year and generate strong free cash flow that exceeds PacStar’s annual sales.
PacStar products include commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics and small form factor communications ruggedized for use on the battlefield. The company also has a proprietary communications management software. PacStar’s primary customers are the Army, Marine Corps and defense prime contractors.
Curtiss-Wright is known for its embedded computing capabilities and products. The company says that PacStar’s products will expand the breadth of its Defense Solutions division’s mobile and secure COTS-based processing, data management, and communications technologies.
“With the acquisition of PacStar, Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division firmly establishes its position as a leading supplier of advanced tactical and enterprise network communications solutions,” Lynn Bamford, president of Curtiss-Wright’s Defense and Power segments, said in a statement. “PacStar’s best-in-class battlefield NetOps solutions fit strategically with Curtiss-Wright’s mission-critical mobile and secure COTS-based technologies, enabling us to provide customers with a completely secure and integrated battlefield—all managed by a ‘single pane of glass’ network and security management software platform.”
David Adams, chairman and CEO of Curtiss-Wright, said in a statement that the pending acquisition is the largest in his company’s “recent history” and that PacStar “is well positioned to benefit from the military’s continued investment in robust, secure and integrated battlefield network management and is expected to yield significant opportunities for revenue growth.”