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Textron To Acquire Supplier of Telecommunications Testing Equipment

7 December 2000

Textron To Acquire Leading Supplier of Telecommunications Testing Equipment; Tempo Research Enhances Greenlee Textron's Rapidly Growing Telecom Test Equipment Operations

    PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Dec. 6, 2000--Textron Inc. announced today it has agreed to acquire Tempo Research Corporation to further expand its growing presence in the telecommunications test equipment market. The deal also includes a product line of multifunction test sets recently acquired by Tempo from Tektronix, Inc. Projected 2000 sales for Tempo are $55 million, up from 1999 sales of approximately $27 million. These figures do not include sales from the recently acquired Tektronix product line, which has projected 2000 sales of $14 million. Tempo will become part of Greenlee Textron, a unit of Textron Industrial Products, a leading supplier of products sold under the Greenlee, Progressive, Datacom, Klauke, Chesilvale, RIFOCS, IMAP and Fairmont brands for wire and cable installation, maintenance and testing. Terms of the transaction, which is scheduled to close in January 2001, were not disclosed.
    "With the worldwide test and measurement market for fiber optic, copper and wireless products estimated at $6.3 billion, and double digit growth expected for the next 10 years, Tempo is a perfect fit for our growth strategy in telecommunications," said Sam Licavoli, chairman, president and CEO of Textron Industrial Products.
    "Tempo, with its market leadership, strong customer base and advanced technology, further enhances Textron's position in the telecommunications test markets, where we anticipate continued expansion," added Greenlee Textron President Barclay Olson. "This acquisition expands our telecommunications test and installation product line and technical capabilities, while providing an opportunity to introduce Tempo products through our global distribution channels," he added.
    Olson said Tempo's product lines and technological capabilities in servicing the high growth broadband access market were key elements for the acquisition.
    Located in Vista, California, Tempo's product line includes the Sidekick test instrument, which is an industry standard, and the new VIP Sidekick which is used with a laptop computer to test, evaluate and manage test results. The Tektronix product line acquisition will complement Tempo's existing telecommunications products by adding high-end time-domain-reflectometry technology and multifunction test sets designed for both telecommunications and cable television industries.