Anite has jettisoned its travel business to focus on the segment which is proving most profitable: its wireless test and measurement business.
Anite Travel Ltd. was sold to United Kingdom-based private equity company LDC for about $61 million, making Anite plc a wireless-only player.
In announcing the travel segment sale, Anite said that its strategy “is to reinforce its position as a global leader in wireless test solutions,” noting that more than 75% of its total revenue and operating profit in recent years has come from its wireless group.
The company has been investing in wireless-related research and development at a rate of about $13 million per year, Anite noted, and intends to use the cash from the sale to pay down debt and for future investment into wireless. The test company also has been making acquisitions to support its wireless segment. Anite acquired Elektrobit’s Propsim segment early in 2013, which included radio channel emulation hardware and software.
Anite noted that it continued to develop its travel business for long-term value and that the segment had reached an inflection point in performance and prospects, prompting the company’s board to initiate a sale that “is right in terms of the next stage of [the travel business’] long-term development.”
“In summary, the Board believes that [the sale] will enable Anite to focus on the wireless market and the growth opportunities that it offers, whilst continuing to concentrate on maximizing long-term shareholder value,” Anite said in a statement.
“The sale … is consistent with our long-stated strategy to reinforce Anite’s position as a global leader in wireless test solutions,” said Christopher Humphrey, chief executive of Anite, in a statement. “As a focused business with a strengthened balance sheet, we will be better able to take advantage of growth opportunities in the wireless market.
“We look forward to developing the business as a ‘pure-play’ wireless company,” Humphrey added.
