Teledyne officials expect no changes at Rockwell sites: new owner says firm will be a 'core business'.

Thousand Oaks-based Rockwell Scientific Co., a developer of laser and other light sensors for surveillance, has been acquired by the Los Angeles defense electronics firm Teledyne Technologies Inc. for $167.5 million in cash.

The acquisition is not expected to result in any job loses and the company plans to keep both of Rockwell's Ventura County factories open, said Jason VanWees, vice president of corporate development and investor relations for West L.A.-based Teledyne.

"It's a nice stable place with stable management that lives in the area. It's something we like," he said.

Under the terms of the agreement expected to close this fall, Rockwell's parent companies, Rockwell Automation and Rockwell Collins, will continue to fund research performed by the company. Teledyne will also license some Rockwell Scientific intellectual properties to Rockwell Automation and Rockwell Collins.

Rockwell develops optical sensors, infrared systems and lasers, mainly for the aerospace and defense industries. More than 50 percent of sales in 2005 were through contracts with the U.S. government. Among its products is an infrared device for the U.S. Army that allows soldiers to identify threats on the battlefield.

For fiscal year 2005, the company reported revenue of $114 million.

The company started in 1962 as the research arm of Rockwell International and opened its location in Thousand Oaks two years later. The company spun off in 2001 and was split between Iowa-based Rockwell Collins and Rockwell Automation of Milwaukee.

Today, it has 420 employees between its plants in Thousand Oaks and Camarillo and office space in North Carolina.

Because the Ventura County plants are close to Teledyne's own headquarters, they will likely remain open, VanWees said.

"We like those locations," he said. "We're in L.A. ourselves. It's easier to manage a business that's in your backyard than if it's a thousand miles away."

The Rockwell purchase is the latest in a buying spree for Teledyne, which provides electronics components and instruments for airlines, industrial clients and the military.

Less than a week after the Rockwell deal was announced, Teledyne subsidiary Teledyne Instruments Inc. paid $30 million for a majority interest in the Florida electronics company Ocean Design Inc.

Last summer, it paid $26.5 million for the radio frequency and amplifier developer Cougar Components Corp., based in Sunnyvale, Calif. It also acquired the oceanographic product company Benthos and the microwave unit of Phoenix-based Avnet.

In a statement, Teledyne President and CEO Dr. Robert Mehrabian said the products in the Rockwell line will dovetail well with technology already under development by the company, such as microwave components and subsystems for military radar, electronic warfare and communication systems.

"Rockwell Scientific possesses advanced technology related to multiple Teledyne operations and will become a core business of Teledyne," he said.

For the second quarter ended June 30, Teledyne reported revenues of $348.1 million, up 14.8 percent compared to last year. Earnings per share also increased 25.5 percent to $0.59.

BY CHRIS COATES 

Staff Reporter