HICKORY – Communications gear provider CommScope is predicting revenue growth and lower costs as well as opportunities to exploit such as 5G wireless following its acquisition of Arris International.
The deal closed Thursday.
Arris is a telecommunications equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia. In November 2018, Commscope announced it had agreed to acquire Arris for approximately $7.4 billion in cash.
CommScope
By absorbing Arris, CommScope (Nasdaq: COMM) also includes Ruckus Networks, a provider of wide-area network technology, which Arris acquired in 2017.
The combined firm “will unleash more potential, capabilities and success for wired and wireless communications,” CommScope declared Thursday.
“With the completion of this transaction, CommScope will be better positioned to benefit from long-term industry growth trends, including network convergence, fiber and mobility everywhere, 5G, Internet of Things and rapidly changing network and technology architectures.”
CommScope CEO Eddie Edwards declared the deal as “a major milestone in the evolution of these two great companies and a significant moment for our industry. With the completion of this exciting transaction, we are creating a new CommScope that will help shape communications connectivity and networks of the future with greater technology, solutions and employee talent.”
The company forecasts a “30-plus percent” growth in earnings in the first full year following the merger with a combined revenues of more than $11 billion.
Cost savings through synergies is expected to be $150 million.
As part of financing for the deal, longtime CommScope partner The Carlyle Group pledged to commit $1 billion to help finance the deal. The private equity firm gained two seats on the CommScope board as a result.
Bruce McClelland, the former CEO of Arris, joins CommScope as chief operating officer.
