Industrial sensor giant Teledyne is set to acquire sensing company FLIR in a deal valued at around $8 billion in a mix of stock and cash, pending approvals with an expected closing date sometime in the middle of this year. While both companies make sensors, aimed primarily at industrial and commercial customers, they actually focus on different specialties that Teledyne said in a press release makes FLIR’s business complimentary to, rather than competitive with, its existing offerings.
FLIR’s technology has appeared in the consumer market via add-on thermal cameras designed for mobile devices, including the iPhone. These are useful for things like identifying the source of drafts and potential plumbing leaks, but the company’s main business, which includes not only thermal imaging, but also visible light imaging, video analysts and threat detection technology, serves deep-pocketed customers including the aerospace and defense industries.
Teledyne also serves aerospace and defense customers, including NASA, as well as healthcare, marine and climate monitoring agencies. The company’s suite of offerings include seismic sensors, oscilloscopes and other instrumentation, as well as digital imaging, but FLIR’s products cover some areas not currently addressed by Teledyne, and in more depth.