Big Deal: EADS Purchases PlantCML

In one of the largest public safety-related deals in recent years, aerospace and defense company EADS NV has purchased California-based PlantCML for $350 million. EADS, based in The Netherlands, mad the purchase through its EADS North American subsidiary from Golden Gate Capital, a San Francico-based private equity fund. PlantCML markets public safety software and 911 solutions, including products from a string of companies it has acquired over the past three years. Plant Inc. was founded as a family-owned business in 1968. The Fuller family sold controlling interest to Golden Gate Capital (GGC) in 2005, and GGC then made several quick additions to Plant: CML in 2005, Dialogic Inc. in 2006, TCI Inc. and Reverse911 in 2007. PlantCML now claims to have the largest installed base of PSAPs in the country, while EADS says it’s the second-largest aerospace and defense contractor in the world. In a press release, EADS said PlantCML would be, “a strong contributor in advancing EADS’ professional mobile radio solutions into the rapidly expanding U.S. market. PlantCML CEO Tim Fuller said the purchase, “will bring added resources, capabilities and technologies to PlantCML, and more importantly, to our customers.”