Gooch & Housego, a specialist manufacturer of optical components and systems, acquired the trade and assets of Gould Technology, trading as Gould Fiber Optics (GFO), for a total consideration of up to $16.4 million.
To support the transaction, Royal Bank of Scotland provided a new $40 million revolving credit facility. The purchase is further supported by $1.4 million of new G&H shares. In addition, there is a deferred contingent cash consideration of up to a further $3.4 million, based upon the performance of the business over the period up to September 30, 2019.
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Baltimore, GFO is a specialist in the design, development and manufacture of fiber optic components and subsystems.
This acquisition enables London-based G&H to take another step towards meeting its strategic objective of further diversification in its core markets. GFO brings the technology and routes to market required for G&H to access the U.S. aerospace and defense fiber optic market, an area that had previously been largely denied to the company, due to International Trade in Arms regulations.
“This acquisition enables us to take another step towards diversifying our business, allows G&H access to previously restricted markets, as well as reducing, still further, the company’s dependency on what remains a cyclical micro-electronics sector,” said G&H CEO Mark Webster.
