Platinum Equity To Acquire USRobotics

By Doug Olenick -- TWICE, 8/22/2005

Chicago — Merger and acquisitions firm Platinum Equity reported that it will acquire USRobotics and use the modem maker as a platform for additional purchases.

Details of the all-cash deal were not revealed.

Tom Gores, Platinum Equity's chairman/CEO, said USR was an attractive company due to its reputation and potential for growth. Platinum intends to identify complimentary strategic acquisitions that would be brought under the USR umbrella, although the company did not go into any further detail.

The company has bought about 50 businesses since it was formed by Gores in 1995.

USR's president Joseph Hartnett said the deal allows USR to maintain its current management team as well as its “independence and entrepreneurial spirit.”

USR's recent history has been rocky due to the decline of dial-up modem sales, which were the company's bread-and-butter product since it was formed in 1976.

During its heyday in 1995, USR bought Palm Inc., which was spun off, and USR itself was grabbed by its major competitor 3Com in 1997. USR again gained its independence several years later, and its current product line up includes cable and DSL modems and a variety of wired and wireless networking products.