Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) and Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) recently announced that Zebra has completed the acquisition of Motorola Solutions’ Enterprise business for $3.45 billion in cash. The transaction was funded with $200 million of cash on hand and $3.25 billion in new debt.
“This transformative acquisition creates one company with unparalleled capabilities and leading global brands in our industry,” stated Anders Gustafsson, Zebra’s chief executive officer. “Our scope and scale make us a more strategic business partner to our customers. We are well positioned to serve our businesses with solutions and services that help them achieve greater visibility for better enterprise asset intelligence. Our efforts are supported by superior global go-to-market channels and the most talented people in the industry. Together, we can provide the building blocks of Internet of Things solutions, as customers worldwide increasingly take advantage of data analytics and mobility to improve business performance.”
“With the successful close of this transaction, Motorola Solutions is now singularly focused on the very core that our company was founded and built upon – a business that continues to help build safer cities and thriving businesses around the world through innovative mission-critical communications solutions,” stated Greg Brown, Motorola Solutions chairman and ceo. “Motorola Solutions is well-positioned for growth and success, building on our industry leadership, unrivaled brand, product development and customer relationships.”
As part of the sale, approximately 4,500 Motorola Solutions employees from locations throughout the world will transfer to Zebra.
Strategic Fit for Zebra
The transaction significantly expands and strengthens Zebra’s product portfolio, geographic reach, go-to-market channels and industries served. The combined organization has about 20,000 channel partners in more than 100 countries, and approximately 4,300 U.S. and international patents issued and pending. The combination of Zebra and Motorola Solutions’ Enterprise business will allow Zebra to offer its shareholders and customers the following benefits:
• Industry-leading data capture, mobile computing, specialty printing and asset tracking solutions and services
• Stronger combined platform with multiple growth opportunities
• New and comprehensive product, technology and IP portfolio
• Leading end-to-end solutions across key industries with global reach
• Highly diversified business mix
• Synergies by maximizing efficiencies and scale
• Attractive growth and free cash flow profile
Strategic Divestiture for Motorola Solutions
With the close of the transaction, Motorola Solutions will be exclusively focused on making its public safety and commercial customers’ operations faster, smarter and more efficient by providing innovative, industry-leading mission-critical communications, data and information solutions.
The company has 50,000 public safety and commercial customers in more than 100 countries and a number of attributes that the company believes will fuel future growth including:
• An extraordinarily committed workforce that consistently delivers innovative solutions and is unmatched in expertise and experience
• A growing solutions and services business
• Leadership in next-generation technologies, such as public safety LTE
• Investment in product and systems development
• An unrivaled brand
• Go-to-market and channel strength
• A unique portfolio of intellectual property
The company plans to discuss its capital return plan as part of its third-quarter earnings news release and analyst conference call on Nov. 4, 2014.
