After acquiring the communications-products business of Thomas & Betts and divesting wireless LAN equipment provider Trapeze Wireless, Belden announced another business deal that it also expects to close by the end of 2010. Belden has agreed to acquire GarrettCom, an industrial-networking products provider, for a price of $52 million according to the St. Louis Business Journal. The Journal also reported that GarrettCom had revenue of approximately $40 million over the past 12 months.
Belden already has the Hirschmann industrial-networking product line in its stable, and said the GarrettCom acquisition will allow the company "to address the growing needs of customers across a more-diverse set of end market applications. GarrettCom sells its products into power utilities, surveillance and security, transportation, specialty industrial automation, telecommunications and similar demanding harsh-environment verticals through a network of system integrators, OEMs and international distributors."
John Stroup, Belden's president and chief executive officer, said, "Belden's strategic vision is to provide the best industrial networking solutions to our customers regardless of application or environment. GarrettCom provides an excellent platform for Belden to partner with power utilities as they upgrade and automate their transmission and distribution infrastructure. The addition of GarrettCom's products will complement our existing industrial networking portfolio and strengthen our position as the world's leading provider of complete industrial networking solutions."