Motorola Solutions Unloads Wireless Broadband Units To Private Equity

The two units, Point-Point Wireless Broadband and Point-Multipoint Wireless Broadband, are respectively called Orthogon and Canopy. Terms of the acquisition weren't provided, and Motorola said it expects the purchase to close by the end of September.

Vector said it will combine Orthogon and Canopy into a single company called Cambium Networks, from which Motorola Solutions will continue to purchase products to provide to public safety and federal government customers to whom Motorola sells directly.

"Vector has deep experience restoring focus and accelerating growth at non-core divisions of the largest global technology companies," said Alex Slusky, managing partner at Vector Capital, in a statement. "We will enable the Cambium management team to build the leading independent provider of PTP and PMP solutions. We are committed to taking great care of customers and creating future opportunities for the employees of the new Cambian Networks."

Phil Bolt, currently vice president, Wireless Network Solutions for Motorola Solutions, will become CEO of Cambium Networks. Motorola's PTP and PMP senior management, sales, supply chain, technical support, product management marketing and R&D teams will also transfer to Cambium. According to information Motorola provided The Wall Street Journal, the two businesses comprise about 220 employees and made about $170 million in revenue last year.

In a statement, Bolt said that Motorola partners that sell wireless broadband from Motorola will benefit from "increased focus and flexibility."

The former Motorola was split into Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility Holdings in January, and various Motorola properties are now headed for new ownership. Google last week confirmed a deal to acquire Motorola Mobility, which houses Motorola's smartphones and tablets among other technologies, to $12.5 billion.

Motorola Solutions also sold its wireless infrastructure business to Nokia Siemens for $975 billion, a deal that was announced last July by the former Motorola and completed in April of this year.