Calian Group has signed a deal to sell its U.S. commercial IT business based in Houston to Trace3, a California-based technology consultancy. Under the deal, Trace3 will pay about $43 million in cash and assume liabilities totalling about $17 million. Calian says the move comes as it focuses on its opportunities in defence, space and […]
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Calian Group has signed a deal to sell its U.S. commercial IT business based in Houston to Trace3, a California-based technology consultancy.
Under the deal, Trace3 will pay about $43 million in cash and assume liabilities totalling about $17 million.
Calian says the move comes as it focuses on its opportunities in defence, space and essential industries, including health care and nuclear.
The Ottawa-based company says proceeds from the sale will be directed toward organic growth initiatives and mergers and acquisitions.
Calian chief executive Patrick Houston says the deal allows the company to sharpen its focus and redeploy capital toward markets where it has the strongest competitive position and the greatest long-term opportunity.
The transaction is expected to close in Calian's fourth quarter, subject to various consents and other customary closing conditions.
The move comes just a couple of weeks after Houston told analysts the company was stepping up its M&A efforts in a bid to capitalize on opportunities in North America and Europe for defence, space and health-care technology.
Calian announced Monday it has officially closed its latest acquisition, the $24-million purchase of Mississauga-based satellite services firm Galaxy Broadband Communications.
On a call with analysts Aug. 13 to discuss the firm’s third-quarter financial results, Houston said more deals were in the works.
“We are continuously looking for assets that will complement the capabilities we have today and allow us to go after larger opportunities,” he said.
“I think in this market right now, scale will be rewarded … We’re optimistic that we can not only continue the M&A pace that we’ve been doing, but even accelerate it here in the coming years so that we can build more scale and take advantage of the opportunity ahead of us.”
Calian reported record revenues of $230 million for the three-month period ending June 30, a 20 per cent increase over the previous year.
The firm posted a net profit of $5.9 million, or 51 cents per diluted share, compared with $590,000, or five cents per diluted share, in the same period a year ago.
— With files from OBJ staff 
