US Robotics announced on Wall Street last night that it has signed an agreement for purchase of sole ownership of the Israeli firm Scorpio. The company announced that the transaction's volume would reach $50-100 million. Reported, the transaction's volume will be $80 million, paid in liquid shares which can be converted immediately to cash.
Scorpio deals in the development, manufacture and marketing of switching systems in communications networks, primarily ATM switchboards. It should be noted that Scorpio's field of operations is similar to that of Ornet, which was recently sold to Siemens. Scorpio, with 35 employees, will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary in Israel of the American company. The company began operations three years ago, although development of its first products was only recently completed and a number of large orders received.
In 1994, Galcom invested in the company according to a company value of $8 million. Since that time, several private placements have been carried out, and the current holding structure includes a 30% holding for the employees and managers, a 25% holding for BEA Funds of the US represented by Giza, 8% held by the Mofet Fund, 8% held by Galcom, 5% by the Polaris Fund managed by Dovrat-Shrem, 4% by Oscar Gruss, and various additional private investors. The company is managed by Orni Patruschka, one of the company's founders and major shareholders.
The transaction still requires approval from Scorpio's shareholders, and a closing date has been set for three months from now. The shareholders' meeting for approval of the transaction is expected to be held in about three weeks.
US Robotics is considered one of the largest modem manufacturers in the world for connection between computers via telephone lines. Its sales in 1995 reached $890 million, earning net profits of $66 million.