Space hardware firm Com Dev sold to Honeywell in $455-million deal

TORONTO -- American aerospace and manufacturing giant Honeywell is taking over Cambridge, Ont.,-based space hardware maker Com Dev International (TSX:CDV) in a $455-million deal that will see the Canadian company spin off its exactEarth subsidiary.

Com Dev manufactures and sells devices such as transponders used in satellites and satellite ground stations, and their hardware is found on 950 spacecraft and 80 percent of all commercial communication satellites.

ExactEarth is a joint venture with Hisdesat Servicios Estrategicos S.A. and provides satellite data services. The company and its subsidiary employ 1,250 people at facilities in Canada, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

In an announcment after markets closed on Thursday, the two companies said investors will receive $5.25 in cash per share as well as a small stake in the independent exactEarth, which will be worth an estimated $125 million on its own.

Com Dev shares closed Thursday at $5.35, down six cents.

Honeywell will fold Com Dev into its existing satellite and space hardware business. The deal will be put to a vote of Com Dev's shareholders scheduled for January.