Surrey-based Spectris has made an American buy through the acquisition of Sixnet.

Surrey-based Spectris has made an American buy through the acquisition of Sixnet.

Privately held Sixnet designs, builds and markets remote terminals, ethernet network switches and wireless products.

The North American business is being bought by precision instrument and control supplier Spectris for a total of $72 million (£44 million), on a debt and cash-free basis, using existing bank facilities.

As part of the deal, Sixnet is set to become part of Red Lion Controls in Spectris’ Industrial Controls segment.

John O’Higgins, chief executive of Spectris, comments:  ‘The acquisition of Sixnet represents further step in growing our strategic business segments and enables us to build our presence in the industrial controls sector.’

The acquisition is the first for Spectris since its August acquisitions of Omega Engineering for $475 million and IRM Group SA for $10.2 million.

Spectris is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a member of techMARK, the LSE’s index for technology companies.

Its M&A strategy states that it looks to buy businesses in niche markets with strong, well-managed brands and a multinational blue-chip customer base.