Aether Systems Inc. announced it will buy Cerulean Technology Inc., a provider of public safety software and solutions, for $150 million, adding the public safety vertical market to its growing list of interests.
Cerulean’s PacketCluster line of mobile applications targets the dispatch, remote data access and field data collection sectors as the initial entry into what Aether and Cerulean call “mobile government.”
Cerulean said it has worked to build a leadership position in the public safety markets, such as law enforcement, and then expand to mobile governments including public works, municipal services, health and human services, courts and corrections, and municipal utilities.
Cerulean’s flagship product is the PacketCluster Patrol solution, which combines ruggedized in-vehicle wireless devices for law enforcement with wireless data network access. Cerulean currently has more than 45,000 users at 700 public safety agencies using the PacketCluster suite. Aether said the companies’ combination will allow them to extend the service to new products and Web-based applications.
In fact, the day of the merger announcement, Cerulean previewed mobile handheld wireless devices for the service. Its first handheld applications will run on Palm devices, including a ruggedized version from Symbol Technologies Inc. Cerulean said it also plans to support the Research In Motion devices.
These handheld devices will integrate with dispatch and existing in-vehicle PacketCluster devices and software, the company said.
“As the public safety mobile market evolves beyond in-vehicle laptops to handheld devices, more customers are looking for packaged systems that incorporate the application software, devices, airtime and ongoing support in a turnkey solution for a monthly fee,” said Bob Badavas, Cerulean chief executive officer. “As part of Aether, Cerulean will be able to more easily meet this demand by offering hosted data services, managed through Aether’s network operations center.”
By centering on Aether’s platform, current and future Cerulean users will have access on one wireless application platform that can be implemented across various governmental agencies, yet remain compatible and interconnected. Most intergovernmental communication systems today are incompatible with each other, sometimes causing confusion during emergency situations involving several governmental agencies.
The exact financial details of the merger have yet to be determined, but up to 50 percent of the purchase price may be payable in Aether stock, with the rest in cash.
In conjunction with the merger release, Aether also announced plans to establish a new business unit called Aether Capital, charged with analyzing the wireless data industry and partnering with companies that have expertise in areas in which Aether is lacking. Aether Capital also will manage existing investments. With Cerulean, Aether has now acquired five companies, and it has either investments or joint venture arrangements with several others.
The unit will be launched with an initial investment of $125 million. Wayne Jackson, former chief strategy officer, was named managing director.
