Teledyne Technologies plans to buy Flir Systems, a company known for its thermal imaging cameras, for around 8 billion US dollars in cash and shares. The two companies signed an agreement to this effect at the beginning of January 2021. The transaction is expected to be completed by the middle of the year, provided the authorities and shareholders approve.

Robert Mehrabian, Executive Chairman of Teledyne, explains the reasons for the billion-dollar acquisition: "The core of both our companies are proprietary sensor technologies. Our business models are also similar: we each offer sensors, cameras and sensor systems to our customers. However, our technologies and products are uniquely complementary with minimal overlap, as our image sensors are based on different semiconductor technologies for different wavelengths."

Teledyne Technologies generated revenue of approximately $3.1 billion in fiscal 2020 and employed approximately 11,800 people in 2019. The Digital Imaging business combines Teledyne Dalsa, e2v and ICM, among others.

Flir Systems achieved sales of approximately $1.9 billion in fiscal 2019 and employed nearly 4,300 people.