Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI) announced it will sell its successful point-to-point and point-to-multipont wireless broadband networks businesses to private-equity firm Vector Capital for an undisclosed amount, leaving Motorola Solutions to play in the government and public-safety equipment market, the enterprise WLAN market and iDEN.
The deal, which is expected to be completed as early as the end of September, will see the PTP and PMP businesses operate as a single standalone company called Cambium Networks. Motorola Solutions plans to continue purchasing products from Cambium to sell to its public-safety and federal accounts. These units generated around $170 million in revenue for Motorola last year.
Phil Bolt, vice president of wireless network solutions for Motorola Solutions, will be CEO of Cambium Networks, the companies said.
Motorola's PMP business, known as Canopy, is used in a number of fixed-wireless deployments, including independent ISPs that often operate in unlicensed spectrum, enterprises and public safety. MSI's CEO Greg Brown said the sale further streamlined the company's portfolio, and Vector noted the business will be "well funded and positioned to benefit from a more tailored focus and agile organizational structure."
Motorola Solutions said last month that it would expand its services business, which accounted for around $2 billion, or 25 percent, of the company's $7.9 billion in revenue in 2010. The company is setting up a dedicated Global Services organization led by Senior Vice President Bruce Brda, who was until recently the head of Motorola's wireless networks unit (Motorola sold the unit to Nokia Siemens Networks for $975 million).
For more:
- see this release
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