NEWS Securicor is new destination for Midland International

May 1, 1996 12:00 PM

A few months ago, plans were announced to merge Midland International, Kansas City, MO, with Intek Diversified, Torrance, CA, and Midland Systems, Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Midland International, a manufacturing company, and Midland Systems, a systems integrator, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Simmonds Capital, Willowdale, Ontario, Canada, and Simmonds owns a controlling interest in Intek.

On March 8, together with Securicor Group, Surrey, UK, Simmonds announced a revised plan to combine Intek's Roamer One airtime services business with Midland International's U.S. land mobile radio business and with certain manufacturing operations of a Securicor subsidiary, Securicor Radiocoms. Under the plan, Intek will acquire Securicor Radiocoms, including its linear modulation radio technology, a manufacturing facility in Bath, UK, a network of UK dealers and resellers, a UK specialized mobile radio (SMR) network, a systems integration business and all of the convertible preferred E.F. Johnson stock that Securicor owns.

Simmonds would retain Midland International operations outside the United States and would retain Midland Systems, which operates as a systems integrator for wide-area networks. Brian Faughnan, a Simmonds spokesman, explained that in the United States, the systems integration business will be carried on through Intek after the merger. The Midland Systems headquarters will remain in Canada, and the company will continue to offer worldwide systems integration services.

With Intek acquiring Securicor Radiocoms in exchange for stock, Securicor Group will gain control of Intek and, through it, Midland International. Intek then is expected to raise funds to continue building the Roamer One SMR network and to use as working capital.

Intek stock trades on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol IDCC. The Roamer One 220MHz radio network is its principal business.

Securicor Group stock trades on the London exchange under the symbols Securicor, Securicor A and Security services. Securicor Group's businesses include security services, parcel and freight distribution and fixed and mobile communications, and the company owns 40% of the UK cellular system operator Cellnet.

Simmonds stock trades on the Toronto exchange under the symbol SMM. The company manufactures, distributes and integrates communications equipment and systems and produces and distributes electronic components.