AGILE seeks capital for networking tech buy, fielding suitors-executives Mergermarket.
AGILE Interoperable Solutions, a provider of emergency communications equipment to government agencies, could execute its next capital raise by the end of 2021, said CEO Shehryar Wahid.
The closely-held Sunrise Florida and Bethesda, Maryland-based company should raise at least USD 10m, Wahid said, adding AGILE would use funds for a bolt-on within the next one to two years. A specific funding range has yet to be determined and depends on the size of a potential target, said Wahid.
Right now, AGILE has between USD 1m and 10m in backing from an unnamed investor, via an undisclosed funding completed about two years ago, Wahid added, declining to elaborate. It expects to close 2020 with revenue between USD 7m and USD 10m, added chief science officer Daniel Johanning, due to new contracts. Johanning added that the company has already doubled sales from a year ago.
AGILE is interested in small companies with technology and related IP around 5G networking tech and edge computing, said the CEO. It is particularly interested in network monitoring software that would be installed on processors within AGILE’s networking equipment, to track connectivity, he and Johanning said. AGILE will be mostly geographically agnostic in a search, they concurred, though they ruled out China.
Wahid declined to give revenue or other financial parameters for a buy, saying technical capability of targets would be the prime consideration in a deal.
Around two-and-a-half-years ago, AGILE acquired an unnamed German networking tech business whose staff included five former telecom engineers from Siemens and Deutsche Telekom. Wahid said a future buy could be similar in size, aimed around acquiring technical capability, new IP and additional engineers.
Meanwhile, AGILE has held exploratory sale conversations with at least one large US defense contractor over the last six to 12 months, added Johanning. But AGILE isn’t ready to sell, he and Wahid maintained, explaining the business needs time to gain sufficient revenue.
The executives said AGILE could be ready to sell in three to five years when they believed AGILE could be worth over USD 100m in a sale. They added that they expect to at least reach that amount of revenue in the same time frame, view new tech offerings gained through acquisition and via partnerships with other networking tech and software businesses.
AGILE also plans to release a new product suite in October with more advanced processing hardware for faster data handling, Wahid said.
On 2 June, the company announced a development and distribution partnership with broadband equipment and services group Virtual Network Communications. Both businesses provided communications solutions to the US Border Patrol over the last few years, Wahid explained.
AGILE has seen increased demand for its equipment amid the COVID crisis, for deployments in locked down areas. AGILE has done similar deployments during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and has worked abroad in regions like Africa and South America where reliable networking infrastructure is less widespread. Most of its staff is remote-capable, so it hasn’t faced administrative challenges from the pandemic, Wahid said.
AGILE provides heavy-duty networking equipment used in unpredictable environments such as disaster areas after hurricanes. AGILE’s equipment is configured to find the closest possible connection source, such as a cellular tower or satellite uplink, in such a crisis.
AGILE’s units start at USD 2,000 price point, with its average unit selling for about USD 650,000, Johanning said. Its flagship product, AGILE Core, operates as a communications hub and operates off radio, cellular, satellite, hardline and Wi-Fi channels for secure communications between multiple agencies. The units also contain onboard mobile communication apps and workflow management tools.
Clients include the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, and US state and federal agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Border Patrol. About 90% of sales are sourced from government agencies, Johanning said.
AGILE was founded in 2010 and has 20 employees.
By Thomas Zadvydas
