Sasken Communication Technologies Acquires Botnia Hightech OY
02 August 2006 14:26
Acquisition to enhance wireless capabilities and establish global Centre of Excellence for hardware and mechanical design in Finland
Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd (Bangalore, India), a pioneer in the telecom R&D and support space, today announced the 100% acquisition of Finland based Botnia Hightech Oy, a leading provider of wireless R&D and testing services. Sasken will pay € 35.5 million for Botnia Hightech Oy in an all cash deal.
Based at Kaustinen, Finland, Botnia Hightech is an important supplier of hardware, software, mechanical design and testing services to leading mobile handset vendors. Botnia Hightech's services can be applied in R&D projects, subprojects, tester design, as well as in cost reduction. They also offer tailor-made turnkey solutions. Botnia Hightech Oy's main operations are in Finland with additional operations in Denmark and Germany. For the year ended April 30, 2006, Botnia Hightech reported revenues of € 17.7 million with a Profit After Tax of € 2.9 million.
Sasken has been a leader in providing R&D and support outsourcing services to companies across the communications value chain. This acquisition is expected to help Sasken scale its offering portfolio faster. Sasken has been focusing on a strategy of deepening relationships with Tier 1 customers and Botnia Hightechs's customer base will further complement the same. The acquisition also gives Sasken a presence in Finland, which will add to its global development centers in Mexico and China, apart from its centers in multiple locations in India.
Rajiv Mody, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, of Sasken said, "We are tremendously excited by the opportunities that this deal opens up for both Sasken and Botnia. Europe leads the world in the development of wireless technology. Botnia Hightech's European presence and their expertise combined with Sasken's global reach and India based development centers will enable us to offer a compelling portfolio of value added solutions to our customers across the globe."
"Botnia Hightech Oy has established itself as a successful high-tech company that is a household name in Finland. In Sasken, we have found an ideal partner to build on this strong foundation and become a global leader in the wireless communication space. We expect growth in our Finland business, as well as to gain the ability to serve global customers through this partnership. The cultural affinity between our two organizations will be the key factor in the success of our joint endeavours," says Matti Paasila, Chairman of the Board of Botnia Hightech.
About Sasken (www.sasken.com)
Sasken is a global provider of software and support services for the communications industry. Sasken works with Network OEMs, semiconductor vendors, terminal devices OEMs and operators across the world. Global Fortune 500, Tier 1 companies in each of these segments are Sasken's customers.
Established in 1989, Sasken employs over 2,800 people at its offices in India, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, UK and the U.S. Sasken is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in India. Sasken has consistently been rated among the Best Employers in India by all leading industry surveys.
About Botnia Hightech (www.bothi.fi)
Botnia Hightech is a globally operating wireless technology company. The core business areas are hardware, software and mechanical design and testing related to these areas. The company improves the competitiveness of the customers by accelerating their R&D and testing processes to achieve leading products.
The company is growing rapidly (during last business year 34 % growth in net sales and 20 % in personnel) and growth expectations are high also after the acquisition when gaining the network of Sasken.
For further information, please contact:
Hannu Timmerbacka
CEO, Botnia Hightech Oy
Tel: +358 424 12121
Fax : +358 6 861 2370
Email : hannu.timmerbacka@bothi.fi
www.bothi.fi
For more information on this company:
Botnia Hightech - Total Wireless Design and Development Services
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