Gooch & Housego have entered into an agreement to acquire EM4 inc (Boston, Massachusetts, USA), with completion of the deal expected to occur towards the end of January 2011. EM4 designs and manufactures optoelectronic components and subsystems, with a focus on aerospace and defence applications. The company's products include lasers, detectors and high frequency receiver/transmitter electronics.
G&H currently specialises in ‘passive’ fibre optic technologies, whereas it refers to EM4's technology as 'active' in that the products work at the interface between the optical and electrical areas of the systems. In all applications, says G&H, active and passive components are deployed together, and therefore the company sees sound logic in acquiring EM4.
EM4 have chosen to focus on aerospace and defence applications and in particular specialise in high-performance, ruggedised components and systems that are qualified for use in extreme environments such as those found in satellite applications. EM4 predominantly serves customers in the US and Europe. The technology can equally be applied to industrial and life sciences applications.
G&H states that its acquisition of EM4 will strengthen the group’s position in the aerospace & defence sector.
