ITT Industries has agreed its first major aerospace acquisition for several years. The New York-based multi-industry firm is to buy Eastman Kodak's Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) business for $725 million.
On completing the deal, ITT plans to create a Space Systems division in its Defense Electronics & Services sector, combining its infrared meteorological sensor and navigation payload business with RSS's activity in high-resolution optical and electro-optical satellite imaging.
The business will target the $6 billion remote-sensing market, focusing on next-generation weather satellites, high-resolution imagery, and small satellites for scientific and intelligence missions, as well as unmanned air vehicle payloads. The RSS acquisition will boost ITT's defence business, which accounted for $1.79 billion of the company's $5.63 billion in sales last year.
In recent years, ITT has been focused on reducing debt and improving returns, but has recently begun making bolt-on acquisitions in its core businesses, which include fluid technologies and electronic components. The company's two most recent major acquisitions were in the water treatment business.
Source: Flight International