Initial sale is for $150 million, with contingent consideration worth as much as $175 million…
In what could be the biggest location industry deal to close 2024, Chandler, Ariz.-based Viavi Solutions VIAV -0.72%↓ has signed an agreement to acquire Inertial Labs. Initially, the deal calls for $150 million to be paid at closing and up to $175 million of contingent consideration, in cash, over four years, the company said.
The acquisition, which has been approved by Viavi’s board of directors and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, is expected to add more than $50 million to Viavi’s Network and Service Enablement (NSE) annual revenue in calendar year 2025.
Headquartered in Leesburg, Va., multimarket Inertial Labs offers inertial measurement units, inertial navigation systems, Assured PNT, GNSS tracking, lidar scanning, alternative navigation and visual navigation solutions. Inertial Labs, which has operated for more than 20 years, has solid GNSS industry experience that Viavi said will complement its existing PNT and aerospace/defense solutions. While the company known for its defense systems, Viavi may benefit by gaining Inertial Labs’ expertise in lidar and photogrammetry is valuable for emerging drone and autonomous vehicle markets, industry observers say.
“With a highly complementary product portfolio focused on alternate navigation solutions, this transaction supports Viavi’s’ strategy to expand our presence in domestic and international aerospace and defense segments and accelerates our entry into autonomous air, land and sea systems in the military and industrial end markets,” said Oleg Khaykin, Viavi president and CEO, in a statement.
This is the second swing at buying a location company for Viavi this year. In March, it offered $1.3 billion for Spirent Communications. However, the deal broke up when Keysight Technologies KEYS 1.02%↑ offered nearly $1.5 billion for UK-based Spirent, in a deal considered the largest in the location industry this year.
