Mercury Computer Systems to acquire Echotek

JULY 14--Mercury Computer Systems (Chelmsford, MA;www.mc.com) has signed an agreement to purchase Echotek for approximately $49 million, subject to certain postclosing adjustments. The purchase price will be payable in a combination of cash and shares of Mercury common stock, with such stock representing approximately 10 percent of the total purchase price. Based in Huntsville, AL, Echotek develops data-acquisition products. The purchase, which is subject to certain closing conditions, is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar 2005.

Echotek produces a portfolio of board-level products for analog-to-digital conversion (A/D), digital-to-analog conversion (D/A), high-performance input/output (I/O), and specialized digital signal processing known as digital receivers. This functionality is present in "sensor-based" computing systems for defense applications such as radar and signals intelligence. These technologies are also key components in commercial systems for medical scanners, large-scale physics experiments, and electronic test instrumentation.

Echotek has a product line available in various form factors including PCI, VME, and PMC. Echotek also supports the RACEway and RapidIO fabrics, which will ease the integration of Echotek mixed-signal modules into Mercury's computer systems.

The revenue for Echotek for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, was approximately $16 million, and the company is profitable. The acquisition is expected to be accretive within 12 months.