ST Engineering to acquire US robotics firm Aethon for US$36m

AEROSPACE and defence conglomerate Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering) said on Monday it will acquire Aethon, Inc, a Pittsburgh-based company best known for its "Tug" smart autonomous mobile robot.

Under a merger agreement, a consideration based on an enterprise value of US$36 million will be payable by ST Engineering subsidiary Vision Technologies Land Systems, Inc (VTLS), subject to post closing adjustments.

Upon completion, Aethon will be a subsidiary of VTLS, and will be part of the group's land systems sector led by Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics).

"Aethon complements ST Kinetics' robotics technologies to better serve the varying needs of customers in both the indoor and outdoor environments," ST Engineering said.

The estimated net tangible assets of Aethon at closing is negative US$1 million.

ST Engineering last traded at S$3.69 on Monday.