Alaris Holdings Acquires United States Based Company mWave Industries, LLC

Alaris Holdings is a technology holding company listed on the JSE AltX since July 2008. The company announced recently that an agreement was signed between Alaris Holdings and United States based company mWave Industries, whereby Alaris acquired mWave. Alaris confirmed that it applied for and received unconditional CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) approval from the US Government to go ahead with the acquisition. The final closing requirements were concluded on 30 September 2018 and the acquisition takes effect from 1 October 2018.

The Alaris Holdings Group consists of Alaris Antennas (South Africa) and COJOT (Finland). The Alaris strategy is built on three pillars, namely radio frequency technology, owning intellectual property and global presence. One of the main objectives for Alaris is to expand its footprint globally. The US market is the largest defence market in the world representing approximately 60% of the global market. The US administration has for the first time in a few years, voted for and approved an increased defense budget to the amount of about $716B for 2019.

Alaris Antennas, a subsidiary of Alaris Holdings and with its head office in Centurion (South Africa), designs, develops, manufactures and sells specialised broadband antennas as well as other related radio frequency products. Its products are used in the communication, frequency spectrum monitoring, test and measurement, electronic warfare and other specialised markets. Clients are located across the globe, mostly outside of South Africa (the Americas, Europe and Asia). Its clients are system integrators, frequency spectrum regulators and players in the homeland security space.

Alaris has grown annual turnover and profits consistently since its establishment in 2005. The competitive advantage for Alaris Antennas is its ability to develop and hold its own IP as a result of its client centric model. Approximately 90% of the company’s revenue is derived from exports, which provides a strong justification to increase the Group’s footprint globally.

mWave Industries, LLC is based in Windham, Maine in the United States and is a leading global provider of innovative custom and commercial microwave antenna solutions with special focus on 60, 70, 80, 94 & 110 GHz Millimeter Wave Reflector Antenna. Their microwave antenna brands include the industry leading Mark Grid, Gabriel, mWave and Quickfire lines of terrestrial microwave antenna which are recognized worldwide for their robust designs and reliability. The company was established in 2004 and designs and manufactures standard and custom microwave antenna products for commercial and government applications spanning the scientific, defence, and academic communities.

mWave specializes in parabolic grids, solid parabolic and directional panel antenna as well as feeds including conscan and monopulse designs. mWave’s additional product offerings consist of micro-strip arrays, panels, horns, helices, sectors, omnidirectional antennas and waveguide arrays. mWave maintains a fully equipped antenna test range that is used to verify new antenna designs and for production verification and third-party testing for its customers.

COJOT was founded in 1986 and is located in Espoo, Finland. The company has 30 years of experience in the design, development and manufacture of innovative antenna products, serving military and public safety markets globally. COJOT develops innovative broadband antennas to improve connectivity, coverage and competitiveness of radio equipment which is deployed to save lives and protect property.

The company offers reliable and durable antenna equipment, which are designed to function in some of the most demanding environments throughout the world. A trend in the antenna technology field is that of smart antennas. The Group’s engineers are well-positioned to drive this trend, creating products that allow functions like automatic frequency tuning, switched beam antennas and multiple port antennas.

According to Group CEO of Alaris Holdings, Juergen Dresel, and major shareholder of mWave, Peter V. Anania who will be nominated to serve on Alaris Holdings’ Board, negotiations were focused on creating an environment which will have strategic benefit to both organisations. “The product lines complement one another and by joining forces, the companies will be able to provide an expanded product portfolio and improved service to customers, “says Dresel.

Companies within the Group are strongly focused on research and development and hold exploitable patented technologies that can be monetized into the future. mWave’s extensive experience in design and strong specialisation focus, will add value to the Group’s competitive features and will enable an increased performance and product offering to the customers.

With the background of the three companies in the Group, it is expected that the fostering of design innovation and continued pursuit of novel technologies will be enhanced through the sharing of ideas and talent in these organisations.

“Being a client-centric organisation with clients based worldwide, the Group’s strategy was to expand its global footprint in order to be closer to its clients. With the acquisition of mWave, this objective becomes a reality,“ says Dresel.

Further, Dresel says, “We are very pleased to welcome Peter Farnum, Managing Director of mWave Industries, as part of the Group’s management team moving forward.” Peter holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Maine, US and has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry. He further stated that, “It is a privilege to have a high calibre management team at mWave, who are well experienced, hold specialised engineering skills and who shall assist in driving the company forward.” Part of this team is Chris Mosher, Chief Technical Officer and senior engineer with 20 years’ experience in RF antenna development and Michael Cahill, Vice President Sales & Business Development, being highly successful in selling predominantly into the telecoms market.

“Since the market in the US holds significant opportunities and international expansion is an important part of the Group’s global strategy, we are confident that this acquisition will not only provide increased benefits to our customers, but will improve shareholder value as well,” says Dresel.

For more information, visit http://www.alarisholdings.com.