Hydroid will become part of HII’s Technical Solutions division. The acquisition of Hydroid expands HII capabilities in the strategically important and rapidly growing autonomous and unmanned maritime systems market.

HII and Kongsberg Maritime are also establishing a strategic alliance to jointly market naval and maritime products and services to the US government market and potentially to global markets.

Since 2001,Hydroid's REMUS UUVs have been deployed in defense, marine research and commercial applications. The UUVs can dive to depths of up to 6,000 meters and explore shallow waters to hover in hazardous areas where navigation is difficult. The UUVs have reduced the high costs of ocean exploration and increased the availability of quality scientific marine data. Hydroid’s UUVs have explored plane and ship disasters, including locating wreckage such as Air France Flight 447 and generating 3D maps of the Titanic.

“We are very excited about bringing Hydroid into the HII family and establishing a strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime,” said Mike Petters, HII’s president and CEO. “Hydroid’s advanced capabilities and reputation for excellence in autonomous and unmanned maritime systems provide the perfect complement to our existing unmanned operations, including Proteus in Panama City and our partnership with Boeing to produce the Orca XLUUV. This transaction, along with the strategic alliance with Kongsberg Maritime, demonstrates our long term commitment to the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and our national security customers and allies globally.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory review and customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. The value of the transaction is $350 million, which will be effectively reduced by tax benefits that are preliminarily valued over $50 million, to be received by HII.

Maritime Business World