Trimble keeps moving with partnerships, acquisitions

With this announcement, Trimble becomes even more a one-stop shop for construction-industry technology and FARO, of course, gains access to a much wider distribution network.When FARO’s Focus3D hit the market in the Fall of 2010, it set out to change the dynamics of laser scanning. Older scanners were bulky, which limited where they could be used. They were complex, which meant that casual users were pretty much not invited. And, most important, they were expensive. The Focus3D is small, light, affordable and, from what I understand, easy to use, and opened the market to many more users and applications of the technology. The one concern I’ve heard about the Focus3D is that FARO suggests users not expose it so “adverse weather” so one likely outcome of the OEM redesign is to harden the scanner in some way — after all, surveyors and construction teams typically work outdoors. FARO’s Trimble OEM product is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2012. Trimble also acquired a company last week, paying $335 million to Pamlico Capital for TMW Systems, a provider of enterprise software for transportation and logistics companies. TMW’s solutions are already integrated with Trimble’s Transportation and Logistics solutions (aka PeopleNet, which the company acquired  last summer). For now, both Trimble and TMW plan to keep working with all of their other partners, though, over time, one can certainly see an integrated offering being brought to market. TMW had trailing twelve-month revenue of $95 million, giving this acquisition a revenue multiple of 3.5. The transaction will be financed by Trimble’s existing credit facility and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012. The transaction is expected to be slightly dilutive to Trimble’s fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings per share, because of a one-time write-down on a portion of TMW System’s deferred revenue, and accretive thereafter. Trimble is an interesting one to watch. From the outside, it looks as though these acquisitions and partnerships are not part of any obvious master plan — deals around Google SketchUp, laser scanners and transportation logistics all in one summer? If they do have a theme, it’s to broaden Trimble’s footprint within its infrastructure base so that the company can withstand the cyclical nature of its end-markets. I can’t say that I know anything about transportation logistics — but I do know something aboutlaser scanning, and think this pairing is a very good thing.