Sierra Wireless will issue approximately 3.7 million shares to the shareholders of AirPrime to pay for the acquisition, in a deal worth $20.1m. AirPrime shareholders will hold approximately 18.5% of the combined entity, and Sierra Wireless will also provide AirPrime with bridge financing of up to $2m until the deal closes in August.
The AirPrime business will continue under the Sierra Wireless name, and will be headquartered in Sierra Wireless’s head office in Vancouver, Canada. According to Sierra Wireless CFO, Peter Roberts, he expects the vast majority of AirPrime’s 78 employees to remain with the company, although some positions will be eliminated for operational efficiency.
AirPrime’s Carlsbad, California headquarters are expected to remain open. Meanwhile, Jim Kirkpatrick, president and CEO of AirPrime, will become senior vice-president of engineering of the combined business.
AirPrime has grown rapidly since its foundation in 1999, reporting sales of $19.2m in 2002, compared with $6.2m in 2001. It has also received more than $86.9m in venture funding and strategic investments from many investors including 3Com, GE Capital, Intel Capital, Qualcomm, and Verizon Investments.
Source: Computerwire
