“We succeeded by keeping the faith, staying focused, and by not taking on anything outside our strategic plan.” “We didn’t get much respect back then,” Ladd told Inside GNSS.
NovAtel stock was selling for about $2 per share. The company reported revenues of CDN$28.2 million (US$17.8 million), with net earned income of CDN$110,000 (US$69,000) for the full year. These include Pat Fenton, vice-president and chief technology officer (CTO) Tony Murfin, vice-president for business development, and Graham Purves, vice-president of sales and marketing.Ībout five and a half years ago when Ladd joined the company from Magellan Corporation, NovAtel had recently closed out the books on its 2001 fiscal year.
Hexagon’s courtship of NovAtel, which began in earnest only about two weeks before the announcement, represents a remarkable achievement for the company and its president and CEO Jon Ladd, a veteran of the GNSS industry, as well as a team of senior managers who have been in place for even longer. If it does, NovAtel will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hexagon. Hexagon expects the deal to close by the end of this year. The offer represents a premium of about 31 percent above NovAtel’s 30-day volume weighted average price of $38.28 per share as of October 5. After the acquisition, NovAtel’s market capitalization would be $447 million with Hexagon holding 16.6 percent of NovAtel’s shares. NovAtel’s board of directors has approved Hexagon’s bid to pay US$50 per share for all of NovAtel’s outstanding stock - or an aggregate purchase price of roughly US$390 million over and above NovAtel’s net cash balance. Buying Leica would almost double Hexagon's revenue, to about $2 billion by 2007, the company said.Acting through its wholly owned subsidiary, Hexagon Canada Acquisition Inc., the Swedish technology company will keep its offer, which it launched October 19, open through November 27. Hexagon and Danaher, which makes the Craftsman hand tools, are competing to buy Leica after thecompany posted a record profit in the year through March, buoyed by sales of the only surveying system that uses satellites to improve the accuracy of ground-based equipment. "This is 31 percent more than Hexagon's initial offer and 14.5 percent higher than the counterbid made by Danaher Corp.," Hexagon said.
Leica, which had backed Danaher, said it would review the new approach. Hexagon, based near Stockholm, said it would pay 573 francs, or $456.94,a share in cash and stock, 73 francs more than Danaher offered on July 26 and 137 francs more than the Swedish company's own initial bid. ZURICH - Hexagon, a Swedish industrial group, offered Monday to buy Leica Geosystems of Switzerland for 1.44 billion Swiss francs to create the biggest measurement-technology company, trumping a bid from the Washington-based Danaher.
0 kommentar(er)
