Motorola Solutions Bets Big on Silvus Purchase
Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) announced a deal after markets closed Tuesday to buy Silvus Communications for up to $5 billion. Silvus “designs and develops software-defined high-speed mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) technologies that enable highly secure data, video and voice communications without the need for fixed infrastructure,” MSI said: The solution Silvus offers “consists of industry-leading algorithms running on a software-defined communications platform to provide high bandwidth network connectivity to mobile frontline teams and unmanned assets that operate in challenging environments.”
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MSI cited use cases for the technology, including border security and other law enforcement applications; unmanned aerial, ground and naval systems used by DOD and NATO; and efforts to fight forest fires.
Analysts at William Blair noted Wednesday that the buy is MSI’s largest to date. “Silvus is a supplier of ad-hoc radio communications networks that are critical for modern drone systems,” the firm said: “With Motorola’s deep international distribution channels, the combined company should be able to significantly increase Silvus’s international sales across the defense, public safety, and commercial end-markets.”