The private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co. yesterday said it has acquired a rescue beacon business from Britain’s Cobham plc for $73 million.
Cobham said that the ACR Electronics, Inc., business, which is based in Florida, is a non-core asset and has customers in the outdoor recreational markets through retail outlets and customers in mature military markets.
Cobham said the divestiture, which also includes the sale of a small German-based electronics business to its management, represents the most significant remaining step in the divestiture of its non-core assets that began last fall with the sale of its Analytic Solutions business.
Cobham still has some non-core assets made up of sub-scale businesses and product lines that combined generated sales of about $24.6 million last year. The company said that these units will be divested individually over time.
The ACR business manufactures and sells beacons and emergency location transmitters to the aviation, marine, military and commercial markets worldwide. The business also makes safety lights and other safety equipment under the ACR and Aertex brands.
“ACR Electronics is a market leader in many of J.F. Lehman’s core end-markets and has a strong reputation for quality and engineering expertise across a divers product suite with both military and civilian customers,” Stephen Brooks, partner at J.F. Lehman, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with the ACR Electronics management team to drive continued success in the business and address new growth opportunities.”
J.F. Lehman said that debt financing for the deal was arranged by BNP Paribas.