Montreal-based SR Telecom Inc. on Thursday announced it has acquired San Jose-based Netro Corp. in an estimated $121-million deal.
SR Telecom, a global fixed wireless access solutions provider, will fully take on broadband fixed wireless access equipment maker Netro, along with Netro’s Angel and AirStar product families to expand SR’s wireless access offerings.
Netro’s Angel is a commercially deployed carrier-class, non-line-of-site system that uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for scalable high-speed data applications. The AirStar offering is also a high-capacity fixed broadband access solution designed for small and medium businesses.
According to SR, the acquisition fits into the company’s overall growth strategy.
“This merger [allows us] to offer the most complete portfolio of fixed wireless broadband access products,” said Pierre St. Arnaud, president and CEO of SR in a teleconference on Thursday. “We are joining forces to address more opportunities in our existing customer base.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction will be structured as a merger, in which a wholly owned SR Telecom subsidiary will merge with Netro and its estimated 135 employees. Netro stockholders will receive total consideration of approximately US$3.11 per share, and following the transaction, will own approximately 43 per cent of SR Telecom’s common shares. SR has assured that there is room available for Netro management appointment into SR’s board of directors.
“This [transaction] gives us the financial strength to support industry growth in technology,” said David Adams, chief financial officer for SR. “The addition of Angel and AirStar will help us double the revenue of the existing company.”
SR’s current fixed wireless access solutions include the SR500, a high-capacity point-to-multipoint fixed wireless access system used to deploy data networks, enterprise communication networks and rural telephone networks, as well as the swing offering – a complete fixed wireless access solution, which uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) radio links and the Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications protocol (DECT) to provide a solution that covers a wide geographical area, the company said.
SR’s acquisition of Netro is expected to close in July. For more information, visit www.srtelecom.com.
