Com Dev sells to Honeywell for $455M
by The Canadian Press
The Cambridge, Ont.-based space technology firm has supplied 80 per cent of all commercial communication satellites
TORONTO—American aerospace and manufacturing giant Honeywell is taking over Cambridge, Ont.,-based space hardware maker Com Dev International in a $455-million deal that will see the Canadian company spin off its exactEarth subsidiary.
Com Dev manufactures and sells devices such as transponders used in satellites and satellite ground stations, and their hardware is found on 950 spacecraft and 80 per cent of all commercial communication satellites.
ExactEarth is a joint venture with Hisdesat Servicios Estrategicos S.A. and provides satellite data services. The company and its subsidiary employ 1,250 people at facilities in Canada, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In an announcement after markets closed Nov. 5, the two companies said investors will receive $5.25 in cash per share as well as a small stake in the independent exactEarth, which will be worth an estimated $125 million on its own.
Honeywell will fold Com Dev into its existing satellite and space hardware business. The deal will be put to a vote of Com Dev’s shareholders scheduled for January.
