Detectors & Imaging

FLIR completes acquisition of Endeavor Robotics

April 2, 2019

Endeavor has shipped more than 7000 unmanned ground vehicles to customers in more than 55 countries.

FLIR’s acquisition of Endeavor Robotics signals FLIR’s entry into the unmanned ground vehicles market for military, public safety, and critical infrastructure.

FLIR Systems (Wilsonville, OR; NASDAQ: FLIR) announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Endeavor Robotic Holdings (Chelmsford, MA), a developer of battle-tested, tactical unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for the global military, public safety, and critical infrastructure markets, from Arlington Capital Partners for $382 million in cash.

Formerly known as iRobot Defense & Security, Endeavor has shipped more than 7,000 UGVs to customers in more than 55 countries. Endeavor's highly-mobile and easy to operate ground robots utilize advanced sensing and actuation in providing explosive ordnance disposal, reconnaissance, inspection, and hazardous materials support for troops, police, and industrial users at stand-off range. Endeavor is one of the largest UGV providers to the United States Department of Defense (DoD), and a key supplier of unmanned systems for the accelerating modernization of global military and law enforcement operational assets.

"With the addition of Endeavor, FLIR becomes a leading provider of unmanned aerial and ground solutions to support the needs of warfighters, and public safety and critical infrastructure professionals," said Jim Cannon, president and CEO of FLIR Systems. "We are pleased to welcome Endeavor to the FLIR team and look forward to driving our mission to innovate technologies that help save lives and livelihoods."

Endeavor is now part of the FLIR Government and Defense Business Unit's Unmanned Systems and Integrated Solutions division. The transaction is expected to be $0.03 dilutive to FLIR Systems' 2019 adjusted earnings per share due to borrowing costs associated with funding the transaction, and accretive thereafter.

SOURCE: FLIR; https://www.flir.com/news-center/press-releases/flir-systems-completes-acquisition-of-endeavor-robotics/

About the Author

Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)

Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.