The board of directors at Dover Corp. has unanimously approved a plan to spin off a number of its communication-technology businesses into Knowles Corp. Prominent brands making the move include Vectron, Dielectric, Knowles, Novacap, Sound Solutions, and Syfer. The assimilation under the Knowles banner will strengthen the company’s position in communication infrastructure components—at the same time deepening its product breadth in acoustic components including microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) microphones, speakers, receivers, and transducers.
In a concurrent statement, it was announced that Jeffrey Niew will serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of Knowles upon completion of the transaction. Niew is currently president and CEO of Dover’s Communication Technologies segment.
On a pro-forma basis for 2013, the to-be publicly traded Knowles will maintain $1.3 billion in annual revenue. High-growth acoustic products will constitute approximately two-thirds of that revenue. Once the transaction goes through, Dover’s annual revenue—also on a pro-forma basis for 2013—will come in at approximately $7.4 to $7.6 billion. The company will continue to focus on energy, refrigeration, fluids, and printing and identification. Expectations are that the transaction will be completed early next year.
