TE Connectivity has agreed to buy Seacon Group, which provides underwater connector technology and systems, for $490 million in cash.
The Seacon Group serves verticals that do sub-sea work including remotely operated vehicles, such as oil and gas, environmental and oceanographic applications and the military marine sector.
Tom Lynch, chairman and CEO of TE Connectivity, said that the purchase “expands TE’s position as a leader in connectivity solutions for harsh environments and significantly strengthens our position in the high-growth oil and gas industry.”
Lynch added that the addition of the Seacon Group “combines their fiber optic capability, TE’s cable product line and the power connector range from our Deutsch acquisition to create a leading product offering for undersea applications. We expect to accelerate our growth with this acquisition in this very attractive sector by leveraging TE’s scale and geographic breadth to support more customers around the world.”
TE Connectivity has seen strong growth in recent quarters, buoyed in particular by connectivity demands in the industrial market and in automotive. The company is well-known in wireless for its distributed antenna products, but also provides connectivity for verticals including aerospace and defense. The purchase of Seacon Group continues an expansion of its industrial solutions that comes three years after TE acquired Deutsch Group SAS, which manufactures heavy-duty electronic connectors for harsh environments, for just over $2 billion in 2011.
TE said that the purchase of Seacon Group is expected to close in its current fiscal year and that it will discuss the acquisition further in its next earnings call on April 23.
