Agilent, Keithley, have announced the completion of the sale of substantially all of Keithley's radio-frequency product line to Agilent, which is based in Santa Rosa, CA. The parties had signed a definitive agreement for the approximately $9-million sale on November 19. With the completion of the sale, the majority of the Keithley RF team of about two dozen employees in Santa Rosa will become Agilent employees. In addition, Agilent will provide global sales, service, and support for the firm's existing RF product line.
According to Ron Nersesian, President of Agilent's Electronic Measurement Group, "This acquisition is a great fit for Agilent. The talented RF team and the former Keithley product line will be strong additions to Agilent, building on our leadership position in RF measurements. We look forward to expanding our RF portfolio for our customers." "We are pleased that this effective RF team will be able to continue to contribute at Agilent," states Joseph P. Keithley, the company's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.
"We believe their expertise and experience will definitely add value to Agilent's work in RF."
Keithley continues, "Because we have placed a high emphasis on profitability in fiscal 2010 and beyond, we concluded that we could no longer continue to support our significant investment in RF measurement products, and should instead focus on growing our core business. The impact of the economic downturn changed the expected timing of the returns we were anticipating from our RF product line, extending them beyond a time-frame that we were willing to continue to support. We are pleased that Agilent will be assuming this product line. Both Keithley and Agilent will work to provide high-quality service and support through the transition for our customers using these products."
Keithley is estimating its sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 to range between $23 million and $27 million and earnings before taxes to range from a loss to a profit. These estimates exclude the impact of the gain on the sale of the RF product line.