General Signal Corp has now completed its acquisition of Data Switch Corp, Shelton, Connecticut following approval by shareholders last week. The Data Switch shareholders meeting had been postponed due to a fall in General Signal’s share price (CI No 2,775). Data Switch managing director Brian Moroney said that General Signal’s chief executive Ed Carpenter left the company, and this was responsible for shaking confidence. However, he has been replaced by Michael Lockhart from General Electric Co Inc, and the takeover went ahead as planned, Moroney said. General Signal, an equipment manufacturer for the process control, electrical and industrial technology industries, has combined the operations of Data Switch with two other of its group companies, Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based Telenex Corp, and Tau-Ton of Westford, Masachusetts. The combined company, General Signal Networks, will be headquartered in Mount Laurel. It will provide channel and communications switching, local and wide area network and mainframe communications, including mainframe channel to channel connections, and telecommunication line monitoring. Moroney said General Signal’s main presence had been in the US and Data Switch was attractive because of its presence in the UK, Germany and Italy and business in the Asia-Pacific region, and its installed customer base in channel and Escon products. General Signal Networks has about 1,000 employees, and combined annual turnover of $210m.
