Mercury makes eighth M&A deal in three years

Defense electronics company Mercury Systems is continuing to push for growth in the mission computing and processing technology markets with another acquisition, its eighth in three years.

Mercury said Tuesday it has purchased GECO Avionics for $36.5 million in cash in a deal that adds a product portfolio of mission processors, airborne displays, video processing and aviation networking tools. GECO’s technologies are used onboard key airborne military platforms like the AH-64 Apache helicopter and KC-46A refueling tanker.

Including GECO, Mercury has made eight acquisitions for more than $650 million in capital as part of its strategy to become a more formidable second-tier defense equipment supplier. The 35-year old company that went public in 1998 looks set on that trajectory as it expects $631 million-$646 million in revenue for its current fiscal year that ends June 30.

CEO Mark Aslett told WT in October the company has also posted organic revenue growth of 9-10 percent over the last five years even as it has revved up the acquisition engine.

The overarching strategy for Mercury is to “be the company that is able to provide all the different types of subsystems on board a military platform,” Aslett said then.