Product category:
Networking Hardware
News Release from: Digi International
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 03 June 2005
Digi pulls a Rabbit out of the hat
Digi International has acquired Rabbit Semiconductor, the manufacturer of the popular Rabbit line of microprocessors and microprocessor-based core modules and Z-World single board computers.
Digi International has acquired Rabbit Semiconductor, formerly Z-World, a privately held corporation and the manufacturer of the popular Rabbit line of microprocessors and microprocessor-based core modules and Z-World single board computers The acquisition is a merger transaction for $49 million of cash
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 8 May 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Based in Davis, California and employing 142 people, Rabbit generated $27.3 million in revenue and $1.4 million net income in its fiscal year ended 30th September 2004.
Rabbit's value proposition is to provide quick-to-market solutions for a variety of systems and devices that typically require connections to the Internet.
These solutions are used in building security, point of sale, parking systems, telecommunications, vehicle and ship systems, container tracking and a broad variety of similar applications.
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Similar to Digi, Rabbit bundles hardware and software together, creating an engineer-friendly development environment.
Customers include Lockheed, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, IBM, GM, Ford, and NASA, along with thousands of small- and medium-sised companies.
"The combination of Digi and Rabbit is very exciting because there is such a tight strategic and cultural fit", said Joe Dunsmore, Chairman, President and CEO of Digi.
"The product lines are complementary and the product and channel synergies will provide tremendous growth potential for the future".
"Conservatively, we believe the acquisition brings an incremental $100 million of addressable market that we believe will roughly double in four to five years".
Norm Rogers, Founder and CEO of Z-World, said: "Digi is a perfect match for us, as we're in adjacent segments of the same business".
"We understand each other and our corporate cultures are compatible".
"Our products fit together rather than butting against each other".
"I am confident this will be a highly successful combination".
Rabbit products are primarily applied to endpoint devices and applications such as sensors, meters, vending machines, card readers, and scales.
There are very stringent power, physical size, and software code sise constraints often associated with these kinds of devices.
By contrast, Digi products, including Digi's ConnectCore and Digi Connect ME embedded modules and NetSilicon's Net + ARM microprocessors, are typically used in integration point devices such as access control systems, alarm system controllers, HVAC controllers, industrial drives, as well as more complex endpoint devices such as kiosks, industrial printers, RFID readers and security cameras.
Requirements for these devices typically include higher data speeds, larger and more complex software, and often a graphical user interface.
"This acquisition represents one plus one equals ten", said Glen Allmendinger, President of Harbor Research, a consulting and research firm tracking the device networking and pervasive computing markets.
"Customers in a wide range of industries and applications will benefit from Digi's and Rabbit's complementary skills, products and market reach".
"Rabbit provides networking solutions for endpoint devices that support many simple I/Os and sensors".
"Digi is the market leader in providing networking solutions for more sophisticated devices like industrial controllers and communications gateways".
"The combination of these two competencies provides customers a partner who can supply easy-to-integrate embedded networking solutions for both of these needs".
"Combining these leaders in the embedded device networking arena should lead to significant growth and value creation".
With the Rabbit acquisition, Digi now has the widest range of embedded device networking solutions in the industry.
Device manufacturers can select from a menu of microprocessors, operating systems, microprocessor-based modules and single board computers, to best fit their application, volume, cost, and time to market requirements.
Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Rabbit becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Digi.
The cash purchase price was used to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Rabbit stock and to buy out all outstanding Rabbit stock options.
Rabbit's name was changed from Z-World, in the merger.
Digi will retain Rabbit's office in Davis, California.
Digi expects Rabbit to contribute in excess of $2.0 million in revenue for the third fiscal quarter of 2005 and in excess of $7.0 million for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2005.
Digi expects Rabbit to contribute revenue in excess of $31 million for fiscal year 2006.
Digi expects that one-time expenses associated with the acquisition will reduce earnings per diluted share by $0.04 to $0.06 for the third fiscal quarter of 2005.
Digi expects the Rabbit acquisition to be accretive by $0.01 to $0.02 per diluted share in the fourth fiscal quarter of 2005.
For fiscal year 2006, Digi expects Rabbit to be accretive by $0.03 to $0.06 per diluted share.
Digi expects Rabbit's gross margin to be in a range of 51 to 53% in fiscal 2006.
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