CommScope

CommScope Inc., which opened in 1976, is an American global network infrastructure provider company based in Hickory, North Carolina. CommScope is a 1997 spin-off of General Instrument and has over 20,000 employees worldwide, with customers in over 130 countries.[3]

CommScope Holding Company, Inc.
Public
Traded as
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1976 (1976)
FounderFrank M. Drendel
Headquarters
Hickory, North Carolina
,
United States
Key people
  • Frank M. Drendel
  • (Chairman of the Board)
  • Marvin S. Edwards, Jr.
  • (President & CEO)
BrandsKRONE
AMP NetConnect
SYSTIMAX
Uniprise
Revenue US$4.56 billion (2017)
US$477.61 million (2017)
US$193.76 million (2017)
Total assets US$7.04 billion (2017)
Total equity US$1.65 billion (2017)
Number of employees
20,000 (2017)
SubsidiariesArris International
WebsiteCommScope.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]

CommScope manufactures the SYSTIMAX and Uniprise brands of enterprise infrastructure of copper Unshielded Twisted Pair cabling, connector panels, jacks and fiber optic cabling, connector panels, racking, and metals. CommScope also manufactures environmentally secure cabinets for FTTN and DSL applications.

History

In 1975, CommScope was a product line of Superior Continental Cable. 29-year-old Frank Drendel headed a team charged with selling the failing product line. Drendel and Jearld Leonhardt founded CommScope in August 1976 after raising $5.1 million to purchase the CommScope product line.[4] Two years later, CommScope and Valtech merged under the Valtech name. In 1979 Valtech donated fiber optics line and equipment to link the U.S. House of Representatives to the C-SPAN studios, enabling live broadcasting of U.S. Congressional proceedings for the first time.

In the 1980s, Valtech sold to M/A-COM, Inc. and CommScope became part of the Cable Home Group for M/A-COM. In 1983 CommScope formed the Network Cable division for the local area network, data communications, television-receive only, and specialized wire markets. In 1986 M/A-COM, Inc. sold the Cable Home Group to General Instrument Corporation. CommScope became a division of General Instrument.

In 1990 CommScope opened a new manufacturing facility in Claremont, North Carolina, to answer the increased demand for unshielded twisted pair (copper telephone wiring), television receive-only cables (used for consumer satellite reception) and personal computer cables.

In 1997 General Instrument split into three independent, publicly traded companies, one of which was CommScope. In July 1997 Drendel rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange to announce CommScope going public.

In 2000 CommScope opened its new global headquarters in Hickory, North Carolina. In 2004 CommScope acquired Avaya's Connectivity Solutions business and inherited the SYSTIMAX brand, a company perhaps best known for its enterprise cabling systems. Avaya's Carrier Solutions, which offered products designed for switching and transmission applications in telephone central offices and secure environmental enclosures, also became part of CommScope. This acquisition doubled CommScope's size. In 2007 CommScope acquired the global wireless infrastructure provider Andrew Corporation. Through its new Andrew brand, CommScope became a global leader in radio frequency subsystem solutions for wireless networks and again doubled CommScope's size.

On October 25, 2010, The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager, announced it would pay $31.50 a share, or about $2.98 billion, to take CommScope private.[5]

In 2011 the acquisition by Carlyle Group was completed. This made CommScope privately owned by the Carlyle Group and removed it from the New York Stock Exchange. The acquisition also changed CommScope's executive structure. Eddie Edwards was appointed president and chief executive officer, succeeding Drendel, who had been CommScope's CEO since the company's founding in 1976. Drendel continued as the chairman of the board.

In July 2011, CommScope received the 2010 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation for its product, Wired For Wireless.[6]

On August 2, 2013, CommScope filed with the SEC to raise up to $750 million in an initial public offering. The initial public offering and first public trading took place on October 25, 2013 at NASDAQ.[7]

In 2015 CommScope acquired TE Connectivity's Broadband Network Solutions (BNS) division. Also in 2015 CommScope acquired Airvana, a privately held company that specialized in small cell solutions for wireless networks.

In November 2016, the Carlyle Group announced the sale of its remaining stock.

On May 16, 2017, CommScope introduced a High Speed Migration platform.[8]

On November 8, 2018, CommScope announced that it would acquire Arris International (the owner of the former cable and satellite division of General Instrument) in a cash deal valued at $7.4 billion including the repayment of debt. This acquisition brought back together two of the General Instrument companies from the 1997 split.[9] The transaction was completed on April 4, 2019.[10]

Acquisitions

In 2004 the company acquired Avaya's Connectivity Solutions business. The Avaya business acquisition included the legacy intellectual property and patents from Western Electric, AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and Avaya.

In June 2007, CommScope acquired Andrew Corporation for $2.6 billion. Andrew's products included antennas, cables, amplifiers, repeaters, transceivers, as well as software and training for the broadband and cellular industries.[11]

In January 2015, CommScope agreed to purchase a unit of TE Connectivity for $3 billion. The transaction closed August 28, 2015.[12]

In October 2015, CommScope acquired Airvana,[13] a manufacturer of small cells and femtocells.

In November 2018 CommScope agreed to purchase Arris International,[14] maker of a variety of networking equipment including set top boxes, WiFi routers and Ethernet switches for $7.4 billion. In February 2019, Arris shareholders approved the purchase.[15]

Board of Directors
  • Frank M. Drendel - CommScope's Founder and Chairman of the Board
  • Marvin (Eddie) S. Edwards, Jr. - President and Chief Executive Officer
  • Austin A. Adams - Audit Committee
  • Campbell (Cam) R. Dyer - Managing Director and Co-Head of the Global Technology, Compensation Committee member
  • Claudius (Bud) E. Watts IV - Lead Independence Director, member of the Compensation and Nominating Committees
  • Daniel (Dan) F. Akerson - Nominating Committee member
  • Joanne M. Maguire - Chair of the Nominating Committee
  • L. William (Bill) Krause - Member of the Compensation and Nominating Committee
  • Stephen (Steve) C. Gray - Chair of Compensation Committee
  • Thomas J. Manning - Audit Committee
  • Timothy T. Yates - Chairman of the Audit Committee

Source: [16]

Management Team
  • Marvin (Eddie) S. Edwards, Jr. - President and Chief Executive Officer
  • Alexander W. Pease - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
  • Morgan C. S. Kurk - Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
  • Frank (Burk) B. Wyatt, II - Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary (Chief Legal Officer)
  • Brooke B. Clark - Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
  • Robyn T. Mingle - Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
  • Suzan M. Campbell - Senior Vice President, Tax
  • Fiona Nolan - Senior Vice President, Global Marketing
  • Karen K. Renner - Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
  • Wendy Taylor - Vice President, Corporate Audit and Advisory
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References
  1. "CommScope Holding". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  2. "CommScope Management Team". CommScope Holding Company, Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. "US SEC: Form 10-K CommScope Holding Company, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  4. CommScope (2016-08-03), CommScope History Video, retrieved 2017-06-19
  5. "CommScope in talks with Carlyle on $2.98B buyout". News & Record. Associated Press. 2010-10-25. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
  6. "CommScope Receives 2010 Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award". EON: Enhanced Online News. 2011-07-20. Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2011-08-09.
  7. "CommScope Marks IPO, First Trading at NASDAQ Ceremony". CommScope. 2015-10-25. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  8. "The Need for Speed". CommScope. 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  9. "CommScope To Acquire Arris International In About $7.4 Bln Deal, Incl. Debt". RTTNews. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  10. "CommScope Set to Shape Communications Connectivity and Networks of the Future with Completion of ARRIS Acquisition". CommScope. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  11. "CommScope to Acquire Andrew for $2.6 Billion". CommScope. 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
  12. "CommScope Completes Transformational Acquisition of TE Connectivity's". CommScope. 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  13. Goldstein, Phil (8 September 2015). "CommScope nabs small cell vendor Airvana with an eye on C-RAN deployments". Fierce Wireless. FierceMarkets. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. Bowker, John; Moritz, Scott (November 8, 2018). "CommScope in $7.4 Billion Arris Deal as Gear Spending Falls". Bloomberg.
  15. Baumgartner, Jeff (2019-02-01). "CommScope-Arris Deal Races Ahead". Light Reading. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  16. "Frank M. Drendel". CommScope.
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