Motorola Solutions Buys Rugged Mobile Computing Specialist

Psion, which has been in business for 32 years, focuses on mobile computing units intended for industrial settings. According to Motorola Solutions, it has about 830 employees with customers in 50 countries and posted 2011 revenue of about $273 million. Under the agreement, Psion shareholders will receive 88 pence (about $1.36) per share.

"Psion is a compelling opportunity to strengthen our industry-leading mobile computing portfolio with ruggedized handheld products and vehicle-mount terminals that will deepen our presence in the global markets in which we compete," Greg Brown, Motorola Solutions' CEO, said in a statement.

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The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012. After it's completed, Psion will become part of Motorola's Enterprise Mobile Computing unit, headed by Girish Rishi, corporate vice president.

Psion has an active reseller channel, and the company in 2010 rolled out a then-new global partner program. Its U.S. headquarters are in Cincinnati.

Motorola Solutions has been rolling out new programs to grow channel revenue and streamline its go-to-market approach following the split-up of the former Motorola in early 2011. Motorola Mobility, the other company that resulted from that split, was sold to Google.