Continental Electronics Has a New Owner

Date posted: 2003-11-06
http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/one.php?id=4115

Continental Electronics Has a New Owner
Broadcast transmitter manufacturer Continental Electronics has a new owner.

Few people in the broadcast industry took note this week when it happened,
but the Dallas-based company was part of the $543 million purchase of
Integrated Defense Technologies Inc. by defense electronics supplier DRS
Technologies Inc., headquartered in Parsippany, N.J.

The transaction was completed following approval by a majority of IDT
stockholders, the buyer said.

A Continental spokesman told Radio World Online Thursday that the impact of
the sale on Continental is not yet known; but, he said, "I think it can only
be positive." Continental has 140 employees.

The company has had a varied ownership history. Continental was founded in
1946 by James O. Weldon and later became part of LTV Corp. In 1972, Weldon
bought it back.

In 1985, the company became a division of Varian Associates; in 1990, it was
acquired by Tech-Sym Corp., which was bought in turn by IDT in 2000.

DRS, the new parent company, employs 5,700 people. Its announcement of the
acquisition of IDT did not mention Continental. A spokeswoman did not
immediately return a call about the company's plans for the broadcast
marketplace.

Mark S. Newman, DRS Technologies' chairman, president and CEO, said in a
statement, "This transaction has enhanced our content on key U.S. Army and
Navy weapons programs, contributed a significant new base of U.S. Air Force
programs and greatly expanded DRS's intelligence agency business, creating a
formidable, defense electronics industry competitor."