Teledyne to purchase test gear maker LeCroy

The $291 million figure includes LeCroy’s stock options, stock appreciation rights, and net debt as of March 31, 2012. The two companies did not offer a timetable for completing the transaction.

LeCroy supplies oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, and signal integrity test equipment. It has become increasingly aggressive in the optical communications technology test realm, providing the high-bandwidth oscilloscopes necessary to test optical transport systems and subsystems that use phase-based modulation formats and coherent detection .

Headquartered in Chestnut Ridge, NY, LeCroy has approximately 500 employees worldwide. For its fiscal year ended July 2, 2011, LeCroy reported sales of approximately $178.1 million.

The transaction was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors. LeCroy directors and executive officers, including founder Walter LeCroy, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction.

"LeCroy will broaden our portfolio of analytical instrumentation businesses by adding a leader in electronic test and measurement solutions," said Dr. Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president, and CEO of Teledyne. "We are particularly impressed with LeCroy’s strength in the market for high-performance oscilloscopes. Furthermore, I am excited about the potential for LeCroy to provide an ideal commercial outlet for our unique Indium Phosphide (InP) process technology and ultra high frequency mixed-signal design capabilities developed at Teledyne Scientific Company, our R&D laboratories."

"This transaction provides a substantial premium for our shareholders and provides exciting opportunities for our customers and employees," said Thomas Reslewic, president, CEO, and director of LeCroy. "We believe Teledyne can help us accelerate our high-end oscilloscope programs to deliver real-time bandwidth well beyond 100 GHz by utilizing Teledyne’s leading InP technology. Furthermore, through a combination of Teledyne’s microwave and mixed-signal design capabilities with LeCroy’s signal processing expertise, as well as our respective market channels, we envision growing our markets and adding new products such as signal generators and multifunction instruments."

In an email to suppliers, Reslewic wrote, “LeCroy will continue to operate under its current leadership team as a relatively autonomous entity consistent with Teledyne's acquisition history.”