Hydroid Robotics acquired by HII in alliance with Kongsberg

According to the press release of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) on 4th February that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hydroid Inc. a leading provider of advanced marine robotics to the defense and maritime markets and a U.S. based indirect subsidiary, wholly owned by Kongsberg Maritime. In conjunction with the transaction, HII and Kongsberg Maritime are also establishing a strategic alliance to jointly market naval and maritime products and services to the U.S. government market and potentially to global markets.

Hydroid, based in Pocasset, Massachusetts, will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions division. The acquisition of Hydroid expands HII capabilities in the strategically important and rapidly growing autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. The value of the transaction is $350 million, which will be effectively reduced by tax benefits that are preliminarily valued over $50 million, to be received by HII.

“We are very excited about bringing Hydroid into the HII family and establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime,” said Mike Petters, HII’s president and CEO. “Hydroid’s advanced capabilities and reputation for excellence in autonomous and unmanned maritime systems provide the perfect complement to our existing unmanned operations, including Proteus in Panama City and our partnership with Boeing to produce the Orca XLUUV. This transaction, along with the strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime, demonstrates our long term commitment to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and our national security customers and allies globally.”

The strategic alliance between HII and Kongsberg Maritime leverages the companies’ combined capabilities and resources to enhance their respective services and product offerings to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and other national security customers. The companies will also explore opportunities to market each other’s products to customers on a global scale and to collaborate to create innovative solutions and additional opportunities for growth.

Kongsberg Maritime is a wholly owned subsidiary of KONGSBERG (ticker: KOG), an international, knowledge-based corporation headquartered in Norway. The group delivers advanced technology systems and solutions to clients within the defense and aerospace market and commercial maritime market.

Hydroid is a field-proven technology leader in advanced marine robotics. Since 2001, its REMUS line of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) has provided innovative, rapidly deployable solutions for use in defense, marine research and commercial applications. Hydroid specializes in UUV design, engineering, production and support.