MELVILLE, NEW YORK -- Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (“Comtech”) (Nasdaq: CMTL) announced today that it has agreed to acquire Solacom Technologies Inc. (“Solacom”), a leading provider of Next Generation 911 (“NG911”) solutions for public safety agencies for $33.0 million.
Fred Kornberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech, said, “We believe Solacom has been a leader in technology innovation for the NG911 space and we are delighted to have them join us. With safety and security markets at growth inflection points, the Solacom acquisition is a significant step in our strategy of enhancing our solutions offerings, particularly with respect to NG911 capabilities. We look forward to working with Solacom’s talented workforce to deliver innovative market-leading products and services to both domestic and international public safety agencies.”
Pierre Plangger, Chief Executive Officer of Solacom, said, “I believe this strategic combination with Comtech is compelling for our customers and employees. I expect our customers will benefit from significantly greater resources and more diverse product offerings, and our employees will benefit from being part of a larger more diversified company.”
Mr. Kornberg and Mr. Plangger jointly stated, “We are looking forward to joining forces to serve the growing and important public safety market and, in the interim, we plan no changes in any scheduled or committed rollouts from either company, and anticipate honoring all existing agreements with customers, VARs, distributors, OEM’s and other strategic partners.”
Key Strategic Benefits for Comtech Include:
- Expands Comtech’s presence in the public safety solutions market, which has a growing need for NG911 systems;
- Enhances our relationships with existing customers and allows us to offer an immediate upgrade path to next-generation call-handling solutions;
- Brings new relationships with state and local agency customers, as well as certain select international customers; and
- Increases the proportion of Comtech’s annual revenues derived from recurring hosted and maintenance solutions.
About Solacom’s Next Generation 911 Solutions
- Offers best-in-class call handling solution with integrated text-to-and-from 911 on a unified platform;
- Provides flexible user interface, capable of adapting to varying customer environments and preferences;
- Provides powerful call conferencing capabilities and enhanced reporting capabilities; and
- Offers geospatial 911 call display and call control directly from a customized map.
Mr. Plangger, who is currently a large shareholder of Solacom, will continue to serve as CEO and President of Solacom.
The impact of the Solacom acquisition with respect to Comtech’s fiscal 2019 financial guidance will be dependent on the timing of the closing of the transaction which is expected to occur sometime during Comtech’s fiscal quarter ending April 30, 2019.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
About Comtech
Comtech Telecommunications Corp. designs, develops, produces and markets innovative products, systems and services for advanced communications solutions. The company sells products to a diverse customer base in the global commercial and government communications markets.
About Solacom
Solacom’s 911 call handling and management solutions are built on more than 30 years of research and innovation in the application of advanced hardware and software technologies for public safety. Today, Solacom Guardian 911 solutions support thousands of agencies affecting millions of lives annually. From dense urban environments to statewide deployments, Solacom solutions are trusted to streamline 911 call handling and management processes and enable more efficient collection of critical information in emergency situations.