NEW YORK — EDO Corp., a maker of defense electronics, bought closely held military-equipment maker Darlington Inc. Tuesday for $28.5 million in cash and gained as a customer a U.S. agency that would oversee contracts to help rebuild Iraq.
Darlington makes communications equipment used by combat units of the U.S. Marines and had about $39 million in sales last year, New York-based EDO said in a statement. EDO spokesman William Frost didn't immediately return a message left on his voice mail.
The purchase will add to earnings this year and give EDO new customers, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, which buys Darlington equipment for its disaster assistance teams. That agency is responsible for U.S. humanitarian efforts such as supplying food and medicine to Iraqi citizens and is soliciting bids for contracts to rebuild roads and buildings if there is a war.
EDO's products include undersea sonar systems and equipment used to fire missiles from aircraft. The company is using acquisitions to spur growth. Last month it bought Advanced Engineering and Research Associates Inc. for about $38 million to increase its military business. Darlington is based in Alexandria, Va.
Shares of EDO rose 70 cents to $16.08 in mid-morning trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange.