Shuttle cocky after SCM buy

SCM Microsystems has snapped up Shuttle Technology Group for a cool $33 million. The seven-year-old Shuttle, founded by British entrepreneur Alan Jones, specialises in ASIC connectivity for e-commerce and digital video broadcasting. Jones said that SCM’s worldwide presence will strengthen Shuttle’s existing customer networks. Jones will stay on board with a significant stockholding in SCM and a seat on the board. He will be responsible for product development. Shuttle operates in the UK and in India, Taiwan and Fremont, developing secure access and interface technologies for a number of OEM manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Panasonic and SyQuest. Steve Humphreys, SCM’s president and CEO, explained the rationale for acquiring Shuttle. He said that both companies' products, technologies business model and operations are highly complementary. Shuttle’s portfolio generated over $18 million in the past year, and Humphreys said that SCM will focus on its ASIC development and the engineering centre in Madras, both described as world-class. He added: "As we have stated repeatedly, it is important for SCM to migrate our technology to the silicon level to drive down costs and provide OEM customers with greater flexibility. Shuttle’s expertise will be important across our entire product line." SCM’s executive chairman, Robert Schneider, added: "Shuttle provides us with a substantially expanded presence in the UK and allows us to tap into the engineering talent in India and combine our US operations in Silicon Valley." ® Click for more stories Click for story index