Racal Electronics Plc is moving its US data communications business into local area networking equipment with the acquisition for $57m cash, 90% upfront, of Interlan Inc, the Boxborough, Massachusetts firm that was acquired by Micom Systems Inc early in 1985 for $47m in shares (CI No 102). Interlan employs 260 people and did $5.2m pre-tax on turnover of some $50m in the year to March with net assets of $14.5m. Micom, Chatsworth, California was taken out by an investment group for $301m last August (CI No 990) and the buyers have since been selling off divisions of the company. Racal was tipped here as a possible buyer of bits of Micom (CI No 989). Interlan’s Ethernet boards will continue to go through its existing US outlets, but Racal, already marketing its products, plans a major push into international markets.
