Six years after it made its last acquisition, BATM Advanced Communications (LSE: BVC) has announced that it has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Metrobility Optical Systems Inc. BATM, which designs and makes broadband communications products, will pay $6.85 million cash for Metrobility over the next two years. $3.15 million will be paid upon closing, which is expected by 15 July 2006, an additional $1.9 million will be paid 12 months after closing and $1.8 million at the end of the second year after closing.
Metrobility is a privately held company headquartered in Merrimack, New Hampshire. It develops, manufactures and markets optical Ethernet equipment focused on accelerating the deployment of carrier-class Ethernet services to business users.
BATM said that the acquisition of Metrobility would strengthen its sales and distribution channels in the US and South America, and that the products offered by Metrobility complemented its existing Ethernet access product range.
In 2005, Metrobility had revenue of $11.8 million and a loss before taxes of US$1.2 million. BATM said that Metrobility would rapidly be integrated with its US subsidiary Telco Systems. It expects the integration will have a positive contribution to Telco Systems' business going forward. The gross assets being acquired were valued at approximately $3.9 million at the end of 2005. At the end of 2005, BATM had cash and cash equivalents of $40 million. It lost $3 million on sales of $56.5 million last year, and has a current market cap of $163 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on June 21, 2006
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