General Dynamics [GD] yesterday said it has agreed to acquire the holding company of IPWireless, Inc., a provider of 3G and 4G LTE wireless broadband network equipment, giving an entrée in the market for next-generation wireless broadband communications in the public safety and military markets.
Terms of the deal for IPW Holdings, the parent of IPWireless, were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2012.
A substantial portion of IPWireless’ business is made up of state and local customers, particularly in the public safety market.
The company is a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman [NOC] on the New York City Wireless Network, which comprises about 400 cellular sites and provides prioritized access by government officials and emergency response personnel with applications that include video, remote traffic control, sensor management and automatic vehicle location. IPWireless is also a subcontractor to Raytheon [RTN] for an LTE communications system being deployed in Adams County, Colo. LTE refers to the long-term evolution telephony and mobile broadband communication standard for high speed data.
IPWireless also serves the DoD, wireless service providers, wireless device manufacturers and commercial infrastructure providers.
IPWireless’ products help first responders and other users access data and applications at high speeds.
A GD spokesman said the acquisition meets two demands. One is the demand for current and next-generation wireless technologies for defense customers and the other is growing demand for public safety networks that rely on high-speed wireless communications.
In February, President Obama signed a bill that sets aside spectrum for public safety use, the beginnings of a nationwide interoperable broadband network that could provide state and local agencies with priority access to various services and databases.
“First responders need fast, reliable and secure access to full-motion video and other high-bandwidth services to protect the public and themselves,” Chris Marzilli, president of GD’s C4 Systems division, said in a statement. “Recent legislative initiatives have accelerated the adoption of these technologies throughout the public safety community and IPWireless provides the end-users devices and scalable networking components that enable that access.”
The outlook for the business opportunities expected to be generated by the interoperable broadband network reach into the billions of dollars for building out the network, providing the devices, and related maintenance and services.
IPWireless is based in California and has annual sales between $65 million and $75 million. The company also has a technology development center in Britain. Sagent Advisors, LLC, is the financial adviser to IPWireless on the deal.
Once the deal concludes, GD plans to rename its new business unit General Dynamics Broadband, which will become a subsidiary of General Dynamics C4 Systems.