Zebra Technologies to acquire Matrox Imaging

Zebra Technologies, which offers a broad portfolio of solutions including rugged mobile devices, data capture solutions, and robotics, today announced it intends to acquire Matrox Imaging, a developer of advanced machine vision components and systems.

This acquisition is positioned as expanding Zebra’s offerings in the fast-growing automation and vision technology solution space. Last year, Zebra introduced its fixed industrial scanning and machine vision portfolio and acquired Adaptive Vision and Fetch Robotics.

Matrox Imaging offers platform-independent software, software development kits (SDKs), smart cameras, 3D sensors, vision controllers, input/output (I/O) cards, and frame grabbers which are used to capture, inspect, assess, and record data from industrial vision systems in factory automation, electronics and pharmaceutical packaging, semiconductor inspection, and more. These capabilities enable industrial customers to lower their cost to manufacture products, improve product quality, and increase compliance and yield, according to the companies.

“Customers are increasingly deploying automated solutions to augment their front-line workers, enabling them to focus on more complex, higher value workflows, and machine vision is a key technology to help them get there,” said Anders Gustafsson, Chief Executive Officer of Zebra Technologies. “This acquisition enables us to meet our customers’ evolving needs, regardless of where they are on their automation journey—from capturing and analyzing data to facilitate decision-making to deploying physical automation solutions to accelerate the production and movement of goods and materials. We are excited to welcome the Matrox Imaging team to the Zebra family.”

The acquisition of Matrox Imaging expands the portfolio of machine vision products, software and services Zebra can offer customers to help them thrive in the on-demand economy that is constrained by both labor shortages and limited supply of upstream goods and materials, Zebra explained. Matrox Imaging’s solutions complement Zebra’s recently launched fixed industrial scanning and machine vision portfolio as well as significantly augment Zebra’s growing expertise in software, machine learning and deep learning, Zebra added.

“The combination of Matrox Imaging’s technical expertise with the global footprint of Zebra Technologies presents an opportunity for Matrox Imaging to accelerate its long-term strategic plan,” said Lorne Trottier, President and Co-Founder of Matrox. “With its complementary machine vision and fixed industrial scanning portfolio, Zebra Technologies will be an excellent home for Matrox Imaging.”

Operations leaders within the automotive, pharmaceutical, electronics and food & beverage industries stand to gain the most from the combination, Zebra stated. According to Zebra’s recent Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Vision Study, 96% of decision-makers agree supply chain visibility provides a clear competitive advantage while 93% of food & beverage decision-makers surveyed for our Food Safety Supply Chain Vision Study plan on increasing investments in food monitoring technology in the next few years.

Zebra expects to fund the $875 million purchase price with a combination of cash on hand along with fully committed financing under its credit facility. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and is expected to close in 2022. Matrox Imaging generates annual sales of approximately $100 million with a higher profit margin profile than Zebra.

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is serving as legal counsel and UBS Investment Bank is serving as financial advisor to Zebra. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal counsel and Evercore is acting as financial advisor to Matrox Imaging.