Adept Technology Announces Acquisition of Leading Autonomous Mobile Robot Provider
Adept Technology, provider of intelligent vision-guided robotics and global robotics services, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire privately held MobileRobots Inc., a provider of industry leading autonomous robot and automated guided vehicle (AGV) technologies. Based in New Hampshire, MobileRobots uniquely positions Adept to deliver productivity gains in unstructured environments, many of which reside beyond traditional robot applications. Equipping Adept's global sales channels with autonomous robots and associated technologies will enable the company to address the needs of the production logistics markets.
"With this acquisition, Adept strengthens its ability to develop and deliver highly flexible automation solutions aligned with the needs and demands of our target markets," said John Dulchinos, President and CEO of Adept Technology, Inc. "We are clearly focused on removing the challenges and costs associated with manual and less sophisticated means of moving critical components through production environments in a flexible manner and MobileRobots extends this value proposition beyond our industry's traditional application areas."
From individual robots in hospitals to fleets of AGVs in factories, automation solution providers and end-users have increasingly depended on million-mile proven solutions from MobileRobots. The ability for the company's autonomous platforms to navigate in unstructured environments and provide comprehensive solutions and unmatched flexibility in delivering supplies, components and parts in complex and peopled environments has been paramount to the adoption of MobileRobots across numerous industries.
"Joining Adept and leveraging their resources and international sales infrastructure will enable the MobileRobots team to capitalize on the over fifteen years of investment into developing technologies and solutions for markets with clearly defined needs," said Jeanne Dietsch, CEO and Co-founder of MobileRobots Inc. "In carefully analyzing the combining of the companies it became clear that our roadmap, positioning, organization and culture are complementary and the acquisition will therefore enable us to more rapidly and fully service our customers."
The acquisition of MobileRobots expands Adept's automation presence in markets including industrial, commercial, medical, research and academia and will contribute to continued innovation in the automation of logistical processes. The MobileRobots team brings unmatched expertise in autonomous platform design and advanced fleet management along with applications experience and an established industry network. Upon completion of the acquisition, MobileRobots employees will become part of the Adept MobileRobots group and will work with Adept's existing engineering, operations and service teams in Pleasanton, CA, Dortmund, Germany and Singapore.
The terms of the acquisition involve approximately $1 million of cash at closing, plus 763,359 shares of Adept common stock which is subject to vesting conditions, and a contingent cash payment of up to $320,000 after one year for an estimated transaction value of $4.5 million. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by July 2010. MobileRobots generated $3.9M in revenues in 2009. The transaction is expected to be accretive in the second fiscal year of combined operations.
