Arlington-Based Surveillance Equipment Company Catches Eye of a Suitor
Purchase of ICx Technologies valued at $274 million
By Bob Keefe | August 17, 2010
In the past year, Arlington, Va.-based
ICx Technologies Inc. has won contracts for sensors and detection devices that helped watch over 4th of July revelers on the National Mall, traffic networks in Honolulu and travelers at Holland's Schiphol Airport.
All that surveillance work also apparently caught the eye of a suitor.
Monday, ICx agreed to be acquired by Portland, Ore.-based
FLIR Systems for $274 million, or $7.55 per share.
The purchase comes despite the fact that ICx also on Monday reported a $9 million drop in revenues and a net loss of $3.7 million in the second quarter ended June 30 - nearly triple the $1.3 million loss it reported in the comparable quarter a year earlier.
What helped make the company attractive, however, was $73 million in funded backlog of business at the end of the second quarter, up 38 percent from the beginning of the year.
In a statement, FLIR CEO Earl Lewis said the acquisition would expand his company's sensor offerings for chemical, biological, radiological nuclear and explosives detection equipment.
The deal isn't complete: Under the terms of the agreement, ICx can consider competing bids until it closes. FLIR said it expects to close the transaction in the fourth quarter.
FLIR develops thermal imaging systems and surveillance cameras.
Read More News