Telit agreed to acquire Thales' cellular IoT products division, which offers a portfolio of cellular wireless communication modules, gateways, and data (modem) cards, ranging from 4G LTE, LPWAN to 5G.
Thales' cellular IoT module business, with approximately 550 employees across 23 countries, services many of the world's top brands. It generated sales of more than €300 million in 2021.
The combined company will be called Telit-Cinterion and based in California. To sharpen focus on Industrial IoT, Telit Cinterion plans to spin off and manage separately the automotive IoT unit after closing.
Paolo Dal Pino, Telit's CEO, remarked: "Innovation, scale and efficient IoT solutions are key for success. This transaction with Thales is arguably the most impactful one for Telit competitiveness. While it will boost our ability to address customer needs more precisely from a richer portfolio, it will also enable us to deliver all new offerings derived from the experience, expertise, and the DNA of two companies that have made security and quality part of their brand promise from the very beginning."
Philippe Vallée, Thales's EVP Digital Identity and Security, added: "The Thales and Telit combination brings together complementary strengths. The business will provide a unique value proposition in a highly competitive global IoT market and will allow Thales to focus its investments on its three core activities in aerospace, defence and security and digital identity and security. The new combination will rely on a unique set of expertise brought by Thales and Telit employees. It will also benefit from leveraging both companies' strong and complementary product portfolio and Thales's experience in cellular connectivity."
