Control rooms  |  2023-08-02

Zetron Expands Critical Communications Technology Portfolio and Global Reach with Acquisition of ‘Eagle’ Business Unit from NEC

Source: The Critical Communications Review | Gert Jan Wolf editor

More than two-thirds of UK police forces, as well as several major European transportation hubs use Eagle solutions

Zetron, a global leader in integrated mission critical communications technology, today announced the acquisition of Eagle NewCo (Eagle), a business unit of NEC Software Solutions UK Limited (NEC) that provides software and services to public safety and transportation organizations, for approximately $15 million (USD). The acquisition is complete, with financial disclosures available in an Australian Stock Exchange announcementmade by Codan Limited (ASX:CDA), Zetron’s publicly traded parent company.

Headquartered in Hull, United Kingdom (UK), Eagle provides mission critical communications and workforce management solutions for the control rooms of more than 100 emergency services and transportation customers across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. More than two-thirds of the UK’s police forces currently utilize Eagle solutions, as do major transportation operations, such as the London Underground, and Dubai International Airport.

“Eagle’s solutions complement Zetron’s existing command and control portfolio exceedingly well,” said Scott French, Zetron President and Executive General Manager. “The integration of Eagle software and services will further widen our core capabilities in critical communications and provide new growth opportunities for all Zetron solutions across all our global regions. We are excited to welcome the Eagle team to the Zetron family and expand our operational footprint in the UK.”

The Eagle business unit was formed as a result of previous NEC acquisitions of APD Communications and portions of Northgate Public Services (NPS). With the acquisition, Eagle is wholly owned by Zetron, with business operations integration beginning immediately, including the transition of Eagle’s primarily UK-based full time employees to Zetron. Zetron plans to maintain Eagle’s physical location in Hull and make further investments in growing it’s UK presence.

Eagle’s solutions were first introduced to UK emergency services customers in 1995, with consistent research, new product development, and customer and geographical expansion in the 28 years since.

Eagle’s solutions include Cortex; an integrated communications control system, Aspire; a contact and relationship management system, CallTouch; a touchscreen-based communication system, Connect; a radio-based communication solution created specifically for the London Underground, and Stream; an incident streaming application for control rooms.

“Highly similar and related markets, yet virtually no overlap in core functionality, services or customer base is what makes this acquisition such an exceptional strategic and tactical fit,” said Terry Miller, Business Unit Director for Eagle. “We are tremendously excited to be joining a rapid growth critical communications company in Zetron that will enable us to offer customers new solutions, integration opportunities and world class service.”

The acquisition brings Zetron’s worldwide employee base to nearly 400 people, including new additions to its development, services, sales and support teams that will remain in Hull. Zetron is headquartered in Redmond, Washington (USA), with operations throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia to serve its growing global critical communications customer base in more than 80 countries around the world.

Visit https://www.necsws.com/ for more information on Eagle NewCo.