Intermec Acquires Vocollect for US$190 Million

Intermec has entered into a definitive agreement under which it will acquire Vocollect, provider of voice-centric solutions for the warehouse. Currently, Vocollect is privately held by Riverside Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm plus a number of other investors. Both companies’ Boards of Directors have unanimously approved the US$190 million all-cash offer.

According to Intermec, with over 1,500 customers and 300,000 users globally, Vocollect will broaden its applications and solution offerings in the warehouse workflow and help to establish a leading position in software-oriented solutions. For Vocollect, the acquisition will extend its voice solutions into rapidly growing Asian markets served by Intermec and its channel partners.

“This acquisition is a major step for Intermec in building a software-centric solutions business in the warehouse, the largest AIDC deployment environment,” said Patrick Byrne, Intermec’s president and chief executive officer. “For many years, Vocollect has built the premier set of voice-centric warehouse solutions and has achieved a strong global market leading position. The adoption of voice in the warehouse is developing rapidly and we expect this technology to provide significant long-term growth opportunities for Intermec.

“When combined with Intermec’s industry leading products and customer relationships, the acquisition will establish Intermec as a clear market leader in warehouse solutions and give us the talent and technology base for creating unique new market focused solutions in the AIDC industry.”

Upon completion of the transaction, Joe Pajer, Vocollect president and CEO, will lead the Intermec Voice Solutions business and report to Patrick Byrne.

“We are excited about the combination with Intermec”, said Pajer, , “Working together, we believe we can accelerate the adoption of voice centric solutions on a global basis and create new innovative warehouse solutions capabilities for our customers and partners.”