Ultra makes two US acquisitions in deals worth £73m

DEFENCE supplier Ultra Electronics has announced two acquisitions in the United States, together worth more than  £73m ($114m).

Ultra, which has operations in Birmingham and Rugeley, has taken over Zu Industries Inc and Special Operations Technology, Inc (Sotech)

Maryland-based Sotech, acquired for £24.6m ($38.4m), supplies turnkey communications surveillance systems and data analytic tools to manage large volumes of data from mobile, fixed line and broadband networks. Customers include government agencies that support and perform global counter-terrorism and counter-narcotic missions, the geographic spread of which is rapidly increasing.

Florida-based Zu, acquired for £48.7m ($76m), operates in a similar field and specialises in the provision of equipment for cyber surveillance systems.

The acquisition of Zu will be financed using Ultra’s existing facilities and is expected to be earnings-enhancing in 2012 before amortisation of intangibles. Zu is a bolt-in acquisition to ProLogic, within Ultra’s Information & Power Systems division.

Rakesh Sharma, chief executive of Ultra, said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to bring Zu into the group as part of ProLogic. There are significant synergies between the capabilities of Zu’s cyber surveillance equipment, Sotech’s systems capabilities and ProLogic’s range of cryptologic solutions.”

He added the acquisition of Sotech supported Ultra’s strategy of growth in the transatlantic intelligence and security markets.

It also broadens the group’s access to the US Government sector.

“Sotech is an established provider of operational solutions that meet the strategic needs of the US and international governments for communications surveillance that can create actionable intelligence,” he said.

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