iRobot to Sell Defense and Security Business to Arlington Capital Partners

iRobot Corp. announced that it has agreed to sell its Defense and Security business to Arlington Capital Partners for up to $45 million including an earnout based on achieving certain milestones.  Arlington Capital will operate the business as a newly formed independent company, which will be the largest independent provider of ground-based robots in the US DoD.  The company currently offers four classes of robots (FirstLook, SUGV, PackBot and Kobra) and has delivered over 6,000 of these robots to military and first responder customers worldwide.  The business had trailing twelve-month revenue of approximately $49 million and gross margin of 44 percent (as of September 26, 2015).

Peter Manos, Managing Partner at Arlington Capital comments: “We are extremely excited to partner with the Defense & Security team at iRobot. The Defense & Security business has an established reputation for cutting edge technology, industry-leading reliability and battle-tested functionality. We look forward to further consolidating the Company’s preeminent position in robotics through organic investment and acquisitions.”

PJT Partners advised iRobot on the transaction.