SR Telecom agreed to acquire Netro Corporation for approximately US$121 million, which represents a premium of 28% to Netro’s closing stock price of US$2.43 on 26-March-2003. Both companies are suppliers of carrier-class fixed wireless access solutions. SR Telecom said the merger would increase its addressable market in urban markets with licensed frequencies in the low (1.9-3.5 GHz) and the high (10-39 GHz) bands. The deal includes Netro’s next generation 3.5 GHz Angel product, which benefited from hundreds of millions in development dollars, as well as Netro’s AirStar fixed broadband access solution. SR Telecom supplies TDMA Point-to-Multipoint (PMP) Fixed Wireless Access solutions. Netro stockholders will receive total consideration of approximately US$3.11 per share, based on SR Telecom’s closing price of C$0.75 per share as of March 26, 2003. Following the transaction, Netro stockholders will own approximately 43% of SR Telecom’s common shares.
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- Netro’s Angel product is a non-line-of- sight system using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to deliver voice and/or data services in the 1.9, 2.3, and 3.5 GHz bands.
- In November 2002, Netro retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its financial advisor and said it would review its strategic alternatives in light of the continuing telecom downturn. Netro received an offer from Wyndcrest Holdings, LLC of Palm Beach, Florida to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Netro for $158.5 million “less an amount in reserve as necessary to shut down operations and arrange for the preservation and/or sale of the Company’s technology,” plus a 25% interest in the continuing company.