Frontgrade Technologies prepares for acquisitions

Frontgrade Technologies contributes circuit card assemblies, microprocessors, motor controls, and radar antenna components to Lockheed Martin's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. (US Missile Defense Agency)

Defence electronics provider Frontgrade Technologies is considering several potential acquisitions and could firm up its first deal in the coming weeks, according to an official at the US-based company.

Frontgrade enjoys strong support for acquisitions from its new owner, US private equity firm Veritas Capital, which manages more than USD40 billion in assets, said Frontgrade senior vice-president and chief strategy officer Tim Lynch.

“Our owners are very aggressive and have access to a significant amount of capital,” Lynch told Janes on 28 July. “I've yet to hear them say there's a limit on what we would buy.”

Veritas purchased Frontgrade for an undisclosed sum in January 2023. Frontgrade, which was previously the Space Systems Division of Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES), employs about 1,150 people and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Frontgrade does about 60% of its work in the space market, roughly half of which is in defence. Another 30% of its business is in airborne and ground defence, and the remaining 10% is in the medical field. Its products include antennas, application-specific integrated circuits, cable assemblies, motion control and power conversion systems, and radio frequency (RF) devices. One potential acquisition that Frontgrade is exploring would expand the company's RF offering.

To fuel its organic growth, Frontgrade spends about 7% of its annual revenue on internal research and development. “We're constantly developing what we believe our customers – based on our conversations with our customers – are going to want” in a year or more, Lynch said.