The transaction will provide Hexagon with access to technologies in the areas of remote visualization, ultrasound, radiography, and industrial imaging, according to a statement released by Houston-based Baker Hughes on Monday. The acquisition is contingent upon regulatory clearance, and the involved parties anticipate its completion during the latter half of the year.
Waygate specializes in what are known as non-destructive testing methods, enabling the identification of flaws in components, pipelines, and equipment without causing any damage. These technologies find application in the energy, aerospace, and automotive sectors, along with various other industries. Acquisition activity in the sensor business segment is on the rise, fueled by increased corporate investments in automation. As factories, infrastructure, and urban areas undergo greater digitization, there is a burgeoning need for technologies capable of gathering data in real time and incorporating it into software models for analytical purposes.
Hexagon’s shares experienced a decrease of 0.9%, settling at 93.72 kronor in early trading in Stockholm on Monday. Conversely, Baker Hughes shares have seen a 38% increase year-to-date through Friday. Waygate reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $83 million in the previous year, based on revenues of $630 million, as disclosed by the companies. Hexagon stated that it perceives the acquired company as possessing the potential to “considerably enhance profit margins over the intermediate term.”
Hexagon produces sensing devices and mapping instruments utilized for generating digital representations of the tangible world; its technologies are employed in mining, construction, agriculture, and manufacturing. More recently, the company has also been involved in the advancement of robotics, having created a humanoid robot that is currently undergoing trials with industrial clients, including BMW AG.
The firm conveyed that it intends to finance the transaction utilizing its own capital reserves and pre-existing lines of credit.
Source: Bloomberg