Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that L3Harris Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LHX) (L3Harris) has divested its Narda-MITEQ and ESSCO business units. These represent the latest transactions as part of L3Harris’ portfolio-shaping process, which began in 2019 and was spurred by the merger between Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies.
- An affiliate of J.F. Lehman & Company acquired Narda-MITEQ on December 6, 2021.
- Communications & Power Industries LLC, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, acquired ESSCO on November 26, 2021.
- Earlier in 2021, Houlihan Lokey advised L3Harris on its divestiture of two business units, Electron Devices and Narda Microwave-West, to Arlington Capital Partners (Arlington).
These three transactions showcase Houlihan Lokey’s continued market leadership within defense electronics and success advising on large corporate divestitures.
Sale of Narda-MITEQ to JFLCO
Narda-MITEQ is a market leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of custom radiofrequency (RF) and microwave subsystems and components for defense and commercial end markets. The company’s highly engineered solutions facilitate the conditioning, management, and transfer of RF and microwave energy in demanding operating environments across a variety of radar, space, test and measurement, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications. With a legacy dating back to 1953, Narda-MITEQ employs approximately 400 individuals across three facilities in Hauppauge, New York, Pfullingen, Germany, and Cisano, Italy.
JFLCO is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm focused exclusively on the government, aerospace, defense, maritime, and environmental services sectors. Headquartered in New York, the firm has completed acquisitions with an aggregate transaction value of over $6 billion since its inception in 1992.
Sale of ESSCO to CPI, a Portfolio Company of Odyssey
ESSCO is a leading manufacturer of metal space frame ground radomes that support a variety of applications, including air defense, weather radar, air traffic control, and satellite telemetry and tracking. ESSCO also designs and manufactures specialty radomes and composite structures.
CPI is a global manufacturer of electronic components and subsystems focused primarily on the communications and defense markets. With a heritage of technological excellence that spans decades, CPI develops, manufactures, and globally distributes innovative and reliable technology solutions used in the generation, amplification, transmission, and reception of microwave signals for commercial and military applications. CPI serves customers in the communications, defense, medical, industrial, and scientific markets. CPI consists of Communications & Power Industries LLC, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and Communications & Power Industries Canada Inc., located in Ontario, Canada.
Odyssey is a leading private equity investment firm with a 20+ year history of partnering with skilled managers to transform middle-market companies into more efficient and diversified businesses with superior growth profiles. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, Odyssey has raised over $8.2 billion of private equity capital since inception, investing in more than 50 platform companies and executing approximately 200 add-on acquisitions. Odyssey is currently investing out of its sixth fund, a $3.25 billion vehicle raised in 2020.
Sale of Electron Devices and Narda Microwave-West (Now Known as Stellant) to Arlington Capital Partners
Stellant is a market-leading provider of radio frequency amplification products for the space, electronic warfare, radar, medical, and industrial end markets. With a multi-generational legacy supporting the most important military and intelligence programs, as well as addressing some of the most complicated technical requirements in the medical and industrial markets, the company designs and assembles traveling wave tubes (TWTs), nano microwave power modules, and other related subsystems. The company has over 800 employees across its three facilities in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, as well as Torrance and Folsom, California.
Arlington Capital Partners is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm that is currently investing out of Arlington Capital Partners V, LP, a $1.7 billion fund. The firm has managed approximately $4.0 billion of committed capital via five investment funds. Arlington is focused on middle-market investment opportunities in growth industries, including aerospace and defense; government services and technology; healthcare; and business services and software.
L3Harris is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers’ mission-critical needs. L3Harris has approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and 47,000 employees, with customers in more than 100 countries.
Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive sellside financial advisor to L3Harris and assisted in initiating, structuring, and negotiating these transactions on its behalf, which represent the third, fourth, and fifth aerospace, defense, and government (ADG) transactions on which Houlihan Lokey has advised L3Harris in recent years. The transactions exemplify the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s dedicated coverage of the aerospace and defense sector.
Houlihan Lokey is a leading M&A advisor to ADG companies. Since 2020, the team has closed more than 35 transactions worth nearly $8 billion in enterprise value. With a staff of approximately 30 investment bankers in Washington, D.C., London, and Los Angeles, Houlihan Lokey’s ADG practice is among the largest dedicated industry banking groups worldwide. In 2020, the Industrials Group was once again ranked as the No. 1 M&A advisor for all U.S. industrial transactions, according to Refinitiv.
If you would like more information about Houlihan Lokey or have questions regarding the firm’s role in these transactions, please contact the team members listed below. | 
