Cubic Corp. [CUB] has acquired Impeva Labs, Inc., giving it solutions for global asset tracking, where it sees near-term opportunities for growth, particularly in defense.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed although a Cubic official tells TR2 that the cash outlay combined with the assumption of Impeva’s liabilities amounted to less than $3 million. Impeva, which filed for bankruptcy in April, was on the auction block.
The acquisition is essentially a new line of business for Cubic, which does offer tracking type capabilities in the defense and transit markets. In defense, Cubic provides integrated live, virtual and constructive simulated training for air, ground and sea forces. The develops and deploys systems that track soldiers during “live” training exercises and air combat maneuvering instrumentation ranges that allow air crews in post-mission debriefs to view three-dimensional computer profiles of all participating aircraft, their flight dynamics, weapons events and engagement outcomes.
In the transportation sector Cubic supplies turnkey automated fare collection systems that include software, computer hosting services, manufacturing, card management, call center services, and related support to customers globally.
Cubic sees near-term opportunities for its new global tracking business, particularly in the defense area.
“We intend to leverage the next-generation technology developed by Impeva to become the market leader in global tracking for the Department of Defense homeland security and commercial markets,” says John Thomas, vice president of Finance and Corporate Development. Impeva will become a subsidiary of Cubic and be renamed Cubic Global Tracking Solutions. “We see the DoD market opening up,” he tells TR2.
Impeva is a subcontractor to ARINC Inc. to demonstrate a wireless communications capability that can track transportation assets in a logistics supply chain for the Army Logistics Innovation Agency. The Army in 2006 awarded the two companies a potential five-year, $20 million contract to develop and demonstrate wireless communications and automatic identification technology to help track DoD assets worldwide.
Last summer Impeva’s Global Sentinel asset tracking tags were used on selected intermodal containers to track cargo bound for U.S. troops in Afghanistan using a route through Russian territories. The company’s technology is also being used by DoD to track and monitor supply chains in the Middle East. The technology can communicate via satellite, mobile communications, and an encrypted radio frequency identification network.
Impeva also did a trial last year for a logistics firm to monitor in real-time fireworks shipped from China to Texas.
Impeva’s active radio frequency identification tags are encrypted, which is something defense customers want, Thomas said.
Thomas says that defense and commercial customers are getting ready to go from trials to larger implementations. For example, DoD is expected to seek bids for logistics tracking of material into Afghanistan based on the pilot project Impeva did last year, he said.
Based on its automated fare collection work Cubic has applications it can integrate into the global tracking solutions, Thomas said. Moreover, Cubic has large service centers around the world that can be used to provide asset visibility, he added.
Impeva does have a Device Management Center for real-time monitoring and event notification. The company also offers smart tags for dry and refrigerated containers and trucks.
Cubic is also developing a smart lock for use on containers that can be integrated with Impeva’s tag system, Thomas says. The smart lock is externally mounted allows for tracking authorized and unauthorized entry into a container, he says.
Impeva, which is based in California, has 35 employees. ARINC had been considered the front runner to acquire Impeva. In April the two companies said that ARINC was providing a $1.2 million loan to keep Impeva operating. They also said that ARINC had been approved as the “stalking-horse” bidder with its $2 million offer plus the assumption of $818,923 in liabilities.