Date: Sep 07, 2010 Source: bizjournals (
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New Hampshire electro-optical systems maker Oasys Technology LLC has agreed to be bought by BAE Systems, the Virginia-based arm of U.K. defense and aerospace contractor BAE Systems plc, in a deal that could be worth $55 million to Oasys.
Based in Manchester, N.H., Oasys will get $25 million in cash up front from BAE once the deal closes. Oasys can also earn an additional $30 million, also in cash, from BAE for reaching unspecified goals. The sale is expected to close, if all requirements are met, in the fourth quarter of this year, officials said.
Oasys has 65 employees in a 40,000 square-foot design and manufacturing facility in Manchester. Once the deal has closed, BAE officials said that Oasys' operations would be integrated with the BAE Systems business headquartered in Nashua, N.H. Oasys will stay in its Manchester location, and all employees, including top executives, will have positions with BAE, according to the company.
Founded in 2004, Oasys specializes in making the technology used in night vision systems, thermal weapon sight systems, and other imaging systems for the defense and aerospace markets. According to Bob Murphy, executive vice president of BAE Systems product sectors, acquiring the employees and technology of Oasys will give BAE an edge in "day/night surveillance and targeting systems as well as precision guidance."
The night vision unit of BAE Systems is based in Lexington. In April, that unit received a $14 million multi-year contract to supply the Canadian army with second-generation thermal weapon sights that are already in use with the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afganistan.
