Surrey's discoverIE Group acquire Slovakian 2J Antennas Group in £45m deal

Published by

Stephen Emerson

discoverIE has acquired 2J Antennas Group

Electronics manufacturer discoverIE Group has acquired a Slovakian maker of antennas.

The Guildford-based firm has bought 2J Antennas Group for a cash consideration of £45m in a deal that will be funded by the company's existing debt facilities.

Founded in 2002, 2J is a designer and manufacturer of antennas for industrial electronic connectivity applications.

For the year ended 31 December 2022, 2J reported revenues of £15.5m, pre-tax profit of £3.8m, underlying operating profit of £3.2m and a 21% underlying operating margin.

Nick Jefferies, Group Chief Executive of discoverIE plc, said: "The acquisition of 2J continues our strategy of building a differentiated, international, growth focused electronics group with strong operating margins. The transaction brings another high quality business into discoverIE, which will be accretive to both underlying earnings and margins.

"2J is a business that we have known for some time, with a strong product range and engineering capability that is highly complementary to our existing Antenova business. By bringing the two businesses together, they will gain access to a greater number of industrial connectivity target customers with a broader product range and wider commercial support functions. We have invested in additional management to scale up the business and achieve operating synergies."

The company, based in Bardejov with subsidiaries in the UK and USA, will continue to be run by its existing management team.

2J will become part of the Sensing & Connectivity division and form a new technology cluster with the Group's existing antenna business, Antenova, creating a platform in the long-term growth, high performance, industrial wireless connectivity market.

In August this year, discoverIE Group acquired South Wales-based Silver Telecom for an initial cash consideration of £21 million in a deal.

Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset. Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users. He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.