GE unit to acquire MEMS division from TRW

Aug. 2, 2002 — In the second major MEMS deal announced this week, General Electric Co.’s Industrial Systems business said it agreed to acquire MEMS sensor developer NovaSensor Inc. from auto and aerospace provider TRW Inc.

 

Fremont, Calif.-based NovaSensor, which serves the medical, automotive and industrial process control markets, will become part of the GE Measurement & Sensing Technologies business within GE Industrial Systems.

 

NovaSensor was founded in 1985 by MEMS pioneer and Cepheid CEO Kurt Petersen. In 1990, it was acquired by auto supplier Lucas Verity, which was in turn acquired by TRW in 1999. NovaSensor currently employs 180 people. The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in the third quarter.

 

The deal marks another embrace of small tech by GE, which launched advanced research programs into nanotechnology, among other disciplines, at its Global Research Center earlier this year. The research programs look five to ten years out into the future, but the NovaSensor acquisition makes GE an instant player in the MEMS industry.

 

GE spokesman Terry Dunn said the deal is part of a larger shift in GE’s industrial systems business from electrical power distribution and control equipment toward a business model broadly defined by the slogan “protecting people, property and workplaces.”

 

That expanded umbrella covers small tech applications from tire pressure monitoring systems and plant performance monitoring to blood pressure sensors and tracking the activities of the elderly. It also includes monitoring the electrical power systems that were the division’s traditional core business. Industrial Systems’ transition to its new mission occurred over the past year and has been significant enough that it is considering a name change, according to Dunn.

 

Marlene Bourne, a MEMS analyst for In-Stat/MDR, said that steadily decreasing sensor prices are making automated industrial process and quality control more attractive to big businesses, which may also explain the timing of the deal.

 

However, the current financial environment might have more to do with it. “When markets get tough like now, companies try to cut costs wherever they can and focus on their core competencies,” she said. “It seems odd they [TRW] would sell, but they have to focus on the bottom line.”

 

Hans Peterson, vice president of business development for Norwegian sensor developer SensoNor ASA, agreed. “We have been waiting for this to happen … Novasensor has been up for sale for a while but there hasn’t really been a taker,” he said. “I guess the way things are these days and with the cash flow required by companies and so forth this is probably a reason for it being sold off.”
 
GE Industrial Systems is based in Plainville, Conn. It employs 40,000 people in over 140 manufacturing locations and 300 sales offices worldwide. In mid-day trading, GE was down $1.65 at $29.75. TRW was down 13 cents at $53.37.

 

 

 

POST A COMMENT

Easily post a comment below using your Linkedin, Twitter, Google or Facebook account. Comments won't automatically be posted to your social media accounts unless you select to share.