|
|
Telular Announces the Acquisition of SkyBitz; Extending Its Portfolio of Leading M2M Solutions
GlobeNewswire 2011-12-05
-- SkyBitz is a North American Market Share Leader in Asset Tracking with
Approximately 190,000 Assets Tracked
-- Complementary Company Profile to Telular with 45% of Revenue from High
Margin, Recurring Services; Annual Revenue is Approximately $35 Million
-- Expected to be Immediately Accretive to Net Income before Non-Cash Items
Upon Close, Which is Expected by the End of Fiscal Second Quarter
CHICAGO, Dec. 5, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telular Corporation
(Nasdaq:WRLS), a global leader in connecting businesses and machines
over wireless networks, today announced the signing of a definitive
merger agreement to acquire SkyBitz, Inc.- the leading provider of
mobile resource management ("MRM") solutions focusing on tracking and
management of truck trailers, intermodal containers, sea-going
containers, rail cars, power generators and rental equipment. The
acquisition expands Telular's position in the M2M space as a result of
SkyBitz's broad base of additional customers and proprietary SAAS
technology platform. The combined companies will create the largest
"pure player" asset tracking and management company in the world.
SkyBitz's unique Global Locating System (GLS) satellite-based
technology provides real-time visibility of many asset types. SkyBitz
addresses a multi-billion dollar market opportunity by reducing
operating costs, increasing efficiency and aiding in the compliance
with regulatory requirements across an increasingly complex set of
supply chains and business ecosystems.
Transaction terms include a purchase price of $42 million, comprised of
$35 million in cash and $7 million in newly issued shares of common
stock. The cash portion will be financed with a $30 million five-year
bank loan and cash on hand. The acquisition is subject to the approval
of a communications license transfer by the FCC, and is expected to
close in 60-90 days.
For the current fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, SkyBitz expects
to record $35 million of revenue, of which 45% will be derived from
recurring monitoring services, and net income before non-cash items of
approximately $5.0 million. Further, by the end of their calendar
fiscal year, SkyBitz expects to be tracking and managing approximately
190,000 assets, a net increase of approximately 11% over the end of the
prior year.
The expected impact on Telular's projected 2012 results as previously
announced is dependent upon the actual closing date of the transaction,
and will be provided at that time. However, Telular does expect the
acquisition to be accretive to its 2012 non-GAAP measure of net income
before non-cash items.
"I am very excited about the acquisition of SkyBitz as it gives us the
leading position in an adjacent M2M vertical market, provides immediate
incremental cash flow and builds upon our stream of high-margin,
recurring service revenues," said Joseph Beatty, president and chief
executive officer of Telular Corporation. "SkyBitz's management
approach and growth objectives fit very well with Telular's strategy
and include growing its installed base of units, enhancing its
international presence, and entering new vertical markets related to
asset tracking. Combined with Telular's existing portfolio of Telguard
and TankLink services, we can address a much larger market opportunity
and expand our technology base with satellite communications
capabilities that will complement our historical expertise in cellular
communications. We believe that this acquisition will help us
accelerate our growth and profitability in the wireless space while
maintaining a strong financial position and staunchly supporting a
tangible return to our shareholders in the form of a quarterly
dividend."
Dr. Homaira Akbari, president and chief executive officer of SkyBitz,
brings 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, product development,
consulting and operations, and plans to remain with the combined
company as president of SkyBitz. In addition, SkyBitz's experienced
management team is expected to stay in its entirety to help grow the
asset tracking business and continue developing related, add-on
services in the areas of cargo security, cargo status monitoring,
preventative maintenance and other applications which will be soon
announced. SkyBitz's employees will continue to work from their offices
in the Washington, DC metropolitan area under the direction of Dr.
Akbari.
"SkyBitz's technology platform is the industry's best-in-breed;
providing a powerful, highly reliable solution that is complementary to
Telular's existing portfolio of M2M solutions," explained Dr. Akbari.
"As the market leader in asset tracking, we have developed cutting-edge
SAAS solutions that are well suited to serve many industries, including
government, due to the patented way in which we use GPS signals to
determine the location of critical assets. My team and I look forward
to continued, profitable growth as part of the Telular family of
wireless solutions."
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is serving as the exclusive financial advisor to
SkyBitz.
Investor Conference Call
Telular will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET today, December 5,
2011, concerning this acquisition. To participate on the teleconference
from the United States and Canada dial 877-941-0844 (International dial
480-629-9835). A replay of the call will be available starting today at
11:30 a.m. ET through December 8, 2011 ending at 12:00 a.m. ET by
dialing: 800-406-7325 (enter pass code 4492507#) or internationally at:
303-590-3030 (enter pass code 4492507#). The replay will also be
available via webcast from the Company's corporate website at
http://www.telular.com.
About Telular Corporation
Telular Corporation provides remote monitoring solutions for business
and residential customers, enabling security systems and industrial
applications to exchange actionable information, typically through the
use of wireless technology. With over 20 years of experience in the
wireless industry, Telular Corporation has developed solutions to
deliver remote access for voice and data without significant network
investment or disruption. Headquartered in Chicago, Telular Corporation
has additional offices in Atlanta and Miami. For more information,
please visit www.telular.com.
About SkyBitz, Inc.
SkyBitz is a leader in global remote asset management solutions,
providing real-time information on the location and status of assets.
More than 700 enterprises rely on SkyBitz technology to achieve total
asset visibility, improved security, lower operating and capital
expenses, and enhanced customer service. SkyBitz delivers its solution
via SkyBitz Insight, a secure web-based application that is fully
customizable and requires no software downloads. SkyBitz is a privately
held company backed by Garvin Hill Capital Partners LLC, Highstar
Capital Fund I, Inverness Graham Investments, Motorola Ventures and
ITV, a fund of Cordova Ventures. For additional information, visit
www.skybitz.com or the company blog at www.skybitz.com/blog.
Safe Harbor
Please be advised that some of the information in this release presents
the Company's intentions, beliefs, judgments and expectations of the
future and are forward-looking statements. Statements regarding
expectations, including performance assumptions, estimates relating to
future cash flows, levels of demand for our products, dividend amounts
and capital requirements, as well as other statements that are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements. For example, the
statement "SkyBitz expects to record $35 million of revenue", "SkyBitz
expects to be monitoring approximately 190,000 assets", and "Telular
does expect the acquisition to be accretive to its 2012 non-GAAP
measure of net income before non-cash items" are forward-looking
statements. These statements reflect management's judgments based on
currently available information and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those in the forward-looking statements. With respect to these
forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding,
among other things, customer growth and retention, pricing, operating
costs and the economic environment. It is important to note that the
Company's actual results could differ materially from these
forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the
Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to the Company's
report on Form 10-K and Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2010. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the
Company or the SEC.
CONTACT: Media Contact:
Pam Benke
Telular Corporation
pbenke@telular.com
(678)909-4616
Investor Relations Contact:
Brinlea Johnson
The Blueshirt Group
brinlea@blueshirtgroup.com
(212) 331-8424
|
|
|