One month after reporting "record" earnings results for its fiscal third quarter, electrical equipment maker Amphenol (APH -0.64%) is putting its extra cash to work.
On Friday, Amphenol announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy General Electric's (GE -3.19%) Advanced Sensors Business, located in St. Mary's, Pa., for approximately $318 million.
A supplier to the global transportation, automotive, medical, and other industrial industries, Advanced Sensors employs some 1,600 workers around the world, manufacturing a variety of highly engineered sensors and sensor-based instruments. Amphenol says that this business will be "uniquely complementary" to its own products.
Amphenol's sales of its products grew less than 5% in the company's most recent quarter, although profits grew more strongly than that. In announcing the Advanced Sensors deal, Amphenol management noted that it sees acquiring the GE division as "a significant long-term expansion opportunity."
