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Advantech buys B+B for $99.85m to boost its comms activities

19 November, 2015

The Taiwanese automation and embedded computing manufacturer Advantech, is buying the Canadian industrial communications specialist B+B SmartWorx for $99.85m. Ottwa-based B+B will be continue to be led by its current management team and will join Advantech’s Industrial IoT Business Group.

The acquisition will expand Advantech’s industrial connectivity portfolio and boost its global market share by using B+B SmartWorx’ branding and sales channels in the US, Europe, and the Middle East.

“Industrial Connectivity is a key to the development of industrial IoT,” says Advantech chairman, KC Liu. “B+B SmartWorx has had a high level of industrial connectivity expertise for many years, and has strong teams in the US and Europe. With the acquisition of B+B SmartWorx, Advantech expects to develop its industrial wired networking and fibre infrastructure, and industrial wireless connectivity solutions product divisions, and to accelerate the expansion of the industrial IoT channel business with a target of becoming a leader in the industrial networking area.”

According to B+B SmartWorx CEO, Jerry O’Gorman, his company has enjoyed “a long and fruitful association with Advantech. We are really pleased to join such a strong global leader in the industry. We share a common strategic view on the future of the industrial IoT market.

“Our focus on ‘edge intelligence’ with our new routers and gateways, together with our Wzzard wireless sensing systems, are a perfect complement to Advantech’s Wise platform,” he continues. “Additionally, our channel forces in the US and Europe are complementary to Advantech’s positioning in Asia. We look forward to serving our many customers with a combined vast offering of products and solutions.”

O'Gorman: a shared strategic view of the future of IoT

B&B Electronics was formed in 1981, initially selling RS-232 data line testers. As its product line expanded, it made several acquisitions, including Quatech in 2011, and Conel and IMC Networks in 2012. In recent years it has been developing “intelligence at the network edge” technologies, taking it to a new position in the Internet of Things industry. To reflect this, the company changed its name to B+B SmartWorx earlier this year.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016




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