Nasdaq-listed, California-headquartered optical networking products and services company JDS Uniphase (JDSU) has acquired Newbury-based ‘location intelligence’ software developer Arieso for $85m cash. Arieso generated an operating profit of £1.1m in 2012 on revenues of £12.8m in 2012, valuing the company at over 4x historic revenues and nearly 50x EBIT! JDSU turned over $1.68bn in FY12 (to 30th June) but made a $58m net loss.
Arieso was founded in 2002 and had since raised over $12m in venture backing from firms including Qualcomm Ventures and Oxford Capital Partners, so well done them. But I’ve said it before and I will doubtless say it many times more; why can’t we find a decent home for our rising stars here in the UK? Or is this now a rhetorical question?