LeCroy Corporation announces that it has acquired Catalyst Enterprises, Inc., a manufacturer of data bus analysis and emulation tools for advanced serial data communications, for $30 million in cash and a $3.5 million note. The acquisition allows the combined entity to bring next-generation products to market faster, and satisfy more customer requirements than either company could independently.
LeCroy expects that acquiring Catalyst will enable the company to:
• Broaden its line of Serial Data Protocol Analyzer Products
• Add an immediately accretive business to accelerate its growth
• Capitalize on growing enterprise customer demand in the network storage space
• Penetrate the market for entry-level PCI Express solutions
• Increase penetration of certain new customer and market segments
• Leverage its existing sales channel relationships and direct sales force for Catalyst's products
• Leverage its R&D capabilities to enhance Catalyst's technology
“With Catalyst, we are acquiring a highly complementary business that will strengthen our position as leaders in protocol analysis,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic. “We intend to build on our successful entry into this market, which began with the acquisition of CATC (now LeCroy's Protocol Solutions Group) two years ago, by adding another engine to drive our growth. Catalyst will be integrated into our Protocol Solutions Group.”
Founded in 1992 in San Jose, CA, Catalyst Enterprises quickly became a leading manufacturer of data bus analysis and emulation tools for Fibre Channel, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), Serial ATA (SATA), PCI Express, USB 2.0, Certified Wireless USB, and other serial and parallel data communications protocols. The company's products are used by companies in the telecommunications, semiconductor, software, consumer electronics, defense, and other industries.
Catalyst founder and CEO Nader Saleh said, “Joining an industry leader like LeCroy is a tremendous opportunity for Catalyst. LeCroy's Protocol Solutions business is a Bay Area corporate neighbor and a respected player in the serial data analysis market on which both our companies have focused since their inceptions. We expect significant short-term benefits for our customers through increased product breadth and feature sets, and great long-term benefits due to the outstanding value generated by the combination of our companies. Together, the expectation is that LeCroy and Catalyst can roll out new products and grow faster within this market than either company could on its own.”
Saleh will remain with LeCroy as the Protocol Solution Group's Vice President of Technology. LeCroy plans on providing technical and product support to the existing Catalyst customer base with the same experienced team they have worked with previously.
“Catalyst has an outstanding team of employees and we look forward to welcoming them into the LeCroy family,” said Reslewic. “Protocol analysis is an important growth opportunity for LeCroy. The ability to draw upon Catalyst's protocol solutions expertise will significantly enhance our ability to realize this potential. We are excited to be combining two leaders in complementary segments of this market, and we expect this combination to accelerate our growth and enhance our ability to achieve our strategic goals.”
