Motorola Solutions to Acquire Airwave

On December 3rd, Motorola Solutions Inc. announced that it had entered into agreement to acquire UK-based Airwave Solutions Limited from investment fund Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2 for £817.5M (approximately $1.2B) or approximatly £700M ($1.0B) on a net cash basis.  In addition to the up-front purchase price, there will be a deferred cash payment of approximately £64M ($96M) in November 2018.  Macquarie acquired Airwave from Telefonica SA in 2007 for £1.9B. 

With annual revenues of over $600M, Airwave is the largest private operator of a public safety network in the world, serving over 300 emergency and public service agencies in Great Britain.  According to Greg Brown, Chairman and CEO of Motorola Solutions: " “The combination of our years of experience as a trusted global leader in mission-critical communications and Airwave’s proven service delivery platform will provide Great Britain with innovative emergency services technology that enhances public safety today and into the future.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.