Nov. 2, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris: ALORO), a high-technology group specializing in precise Positioning, Navigation and Timing, and Digital Angel (NASDAQ: DIGA), an advanced technology company in the field of animal identification and emergency identification solutions, announced today that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Orolia to purchase McMurdo, a Digital Angel unit based in the United Kingdom, for $10 million cash.
Joseph J. Grillo, Digital Angel’s Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, “This transaction marks an important step towards focusing Digital Angel on a single core business, simultaneously giving us the ability to pay off our term debt and improve our working capital position. Digital Angel’s Board of Directors and management team have made the strategic decision to focus the company on our Animal ID business, Destron Fearing, which we intend to grow both organically and by acquisition going forward.”
Jean-Yves Courtois, Orolia’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “This acquisition represents continued execution of our growth strategy to acquire and build technology businesses in Positioning, Navigation and Timing.” Courtois further went on to say, “The addition of McMurdo to our portfolio of industry leading brands complements our recent acquisition of Kannad, a leader in positioning systems for extreme environments. With the combination of these businesses in our Positioning Systems Division, we believe that Kannad’s strong presence in avionics segments and McMurdo’s market leadership in location beacons in the maritime industry will provide significant opportunities to leverage distribution channels, build a strong division infrastructure and extend our reach in growth segments for positioning applications.”
The key terms of the transaction are as follows:
- $10 million cash consideration
- $1.5 million to be held in escrow for up to 12 months to cover post-closing claims, warranties or indemnities
- Closing to take place upon satisfaction of closing conditions, targeted to be November 20, 2009
- Structured as a cash-free, debt-free sale of assets
“McMurdo’s turnover was €10.8 million in 2008. We believe that this acquisition will be immediately accretive and should make a positive contribution to the cash flow of the Group,” Mr. Courtois added.
About Digital Angel
Digital Angel (www.digitalangel.com) is an advanced technology company in the field of animal identification and emergency identification solutions. Digital Angel's products are utilized around the world in such applications as pet identification using its patented, FDA-approved implantable microchip; livestock identification and tracking using visual and radio frequency identification (RFID) ear tags; and global positioning systems (GPS) search and rescue beacons for use on aircraft, ships and boats, and by adventure enthusiasts.
About Orolia
Orolia is a high-technology group specialized in precise Positioning, Navigation and Timing. Orolia provides high-precision electronics equipments that generate, distribute, measure and process the high-precision Time & Frequency signals that Critical Operations use to detect, trace, control, analyze or synchronize time and location-critical events. High-precision timing, positioning and synchronization solutions are vital for critical applications in growing markets such as Defense, Public Safety, and Telecom & Broadcasting in land, maritime, air or space environments. Since 2006, the Orolia group has been able to establish itself as one of the leaders in PNT solutions at a global level through four companies: Spectracom, SpectraTime, T4Science and Kannad. Orolia’s headquarters are located in Les Ulis, (France). The company also has main offices in Sophia-Antipolis (France), Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Stockholm (Sweden), Rochester (New York), Basingstoke (UK) and Guidel (France).
This press release contains certain “forward-looking” statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Forward-looking statements included in this press release include, without limitation, the expected closing of the transaction and future expectations regarding the financial and operational benefits of the transaction. Additional information about these and other factors that could affect Digital Angel’s businesses is set forth in the Company's Form 10-K under the caption "Risk Factors" filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 31, 2009, and subsequent filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
