August 11, 2005 Copenhagen, Denmark -- Anritsu today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Axcel, a Danish investment company, and the management of NetTest, a provider of network monitoring systems and field-use communications test products, in order to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of NetTest.
NetTest, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, has 480 employees, with primary locations for R&D facilities located in the U.S., France, and Italy. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the company had revenues of approximately $94 million with sales in over 70 countries; the company's wireless network monitoring platforms possess 28% of global market share.
"The acquisition of NetTest will accelerate Anritsu's vision to be a global market leader in test and measurement," remarks Hiromichi Toda, Anritsu's president. "The addition...will expand Anritsu's business domain into the high growth markets for network performance monitoring and service assurance."
NetTest has been owned by Axcel since the last day of 2002, when the company was acquired from GN Great Nordic. Since the acquisition by Axcel, NetTest has repositioned itself from an all-optical strategy to a network performance strategy. During this period, the company launched a range of new products and won several major telecom operator accounts.
The transaction, which has been approved by both Anritsu's and NetTest's boards of directors, is expected to close before the end of August.