26th Feb 2007 07:03
Laird Group PLC26 February 2007 26 February 2007 LAIRD TUNES IN TO WiMax and WLAN ANTENNA SOLUTIONS The Laird Group PLC ("Laird") announces today the acquisition of Cushcraft,Inc., a privately held business for a cash consideration of $89.75 million(£45.9 million) on a debt free basis. Cushcraft designs and manufactures advanced communication antennae and accessoryproducts to exacting electrical and mechanical specifications, providing highlyengineered customised RF solutions for OEM light infrastructure applications inthe WLAN, WiMax, WISP, and RFID markets. In the year ended 31 December 2006 Cushcraft reported revenues of $33.3 million(£17.0 million), operating profits of $8.9 million (£4.5 million) and grossassets of $12.2 million (£6.2 million). Cushcraft is based in the US and is highly focussed on the US market andcustomer base. The business and its management will be integrated with LairdTechnologies' growing Wireless Infrastructure Antenna SBU, and will benefit fromLaird's greater product development and application engineering resources,customer presence and global reach, while providing Laird with an expansion ofboth its product range and the market sectors it serves. Describing the benefits of the acquisition, Peter Hill, Chief Executive ofLaird, said: "Our strategy is to establish leading positions and key technologies in our coremarkets where we see opportunities for growth. Cushcraft's position anddevelopment expertise in the new and exciting, fast growing WiMax and RFIDsectors will enhance our current and future products for the growing wirelessmarket, providing our combined customer base with the solutions they require aswireless signal integrity becomes increasingly important." For enquiries: The Laird Group PLC Maitland Peter Hill, Chief Executive Brian Hudspith Jonathan Silver, Finance Director Charlotte Barker Tel: 020 7468 4040 Tel: 020 7379 5151 The Laird Group PLC: Laird is a leading global electronics and security systems group employing12,500 people in operations in North America, Europe and across Asia. Laird Technologies: Laird Technologies designs and supplies customised performance critical productsfor wireless and other advanced electronics applications. Laird Technologies is a global market leader in the design and supply ofelectromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal interface products, signalintegrity components, wireless antennae solutions, and has recently establisheda position in the design and supply of complete radio frequency ("RF") modulesand systems. These performance critical products, co-designed in conjunctionwith customers, are essential in enabling and protecting the functionality ofelectronic devices and wireless applications. Custom products are supplied to all sectors of the electronics industry,including telecommunications, data transfer and information technology, as wellas to the automotive, aerospace and defence, consumer electronics, medical andindustrial markets. Laird Technologies' customers include global leaders in their respectivemarkets. Cushcraft: Cushcraft initially manufactured VHF and UHF products for the public servicesand HAM radio markets. In the 1990's the business began to produce its first RFdata collection products. The business operates from facilities in Manchester,San Diego and Bluffdale, United States and employs some 90 people. Cushcraft's infrastructure products are for a variety of communication marketsincluding WLAN, WWAN, which includes WiMax products and WISP, RFID and otherspecialist antennae products. Cushcraft have a diverse customer base with themajority of revenues to OEMs. Glossary: EMI Electromagnetic Interference OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer RF Radio Frequency RFID Radio Frequency Identification SBU Strategic Business Unit UHF Ultra High Frequency VHF Very High Frequency WLAN Wireless Local Area Network (sometimes also WiFi) WWAN Wireless Wide Area Network WiMax Wireless Metropolitan Area Network/Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access WISP Wireless Internet Service Provider This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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