AAI Corp., a defense contractor headquartered in Hunt Valley, has acquired two privately held companies for the purchase price of $6.5 million.
As a result of the acquisition, Australia-based Aerosonde Pty Ltd. and Aerosonde North America Inc., will join AAI, which is a wholly owned and the largest subsidiary of United Industrial Corp., also of Hunt Valley.
AAI is a designer, manufacturer and systems integrator of unmanned aircraft systems, ground control station technologies and other unmanned system capabilities.
Aerosonde Pty manufactures and develops unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for civil and military clients in Australia, Asia and North America, while the North American company operates the Aerosonde UAV to provide research and development and weather forecasting for U.S.-based customers, including the U.S. Air Force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.
Michael Lewis, an analyst with BB&T Capital Markets who follows the company, called the acquisition a positive move for the company.
“I think it?s good strategy play with regard to diversifying their revenue concentration away from the Army and the tactical shadow UAV,” said Lewis.
“It will expand their product offering to other opportunities not specifically tied just to military operations, but also to some homeland security opportunities and potentially law enforcement opportunities,” he said.
Company officials do not expect the acquisition to have any significant short-term financial impact on UIC.
“The acquisition of Aerosonde is a perfect fit for our blueprint of strategically expanding our unmanned aircraft systems to meet the growing and diversified requirements of military, homeland security and civilian markets,” said Steven E. Reid, AAI?s vice president of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “Aerosonde?s unique capabilities fit very nicely with our own unmanned aircraft technologies.”
Meanwhile, Lewis said that the acquisitions will further the company?s position in the UAV sector.
“This is a segway into more international exposure [for the company] that should open up new opportunities with other international clients,” said Lewis.
“What?s very important here is that UIC is positioning itself as a primary provider of UAVs from the tactical level to the small UAV level, which is positioning them for new opportunities later in the cycle, he said.”
