FARNBOROUGH, UK (Aug. 22 2014) – QinetiQ Group plc completed the acquisition of Redfern Integrated Optics (RIO), based in San Francisco, California, following receipt of U.S. regulatory approvals. The acquisition accelerates the development of OptaSense, a QinetiQ subsidiary, providing the business with secure access to the technical team developing the current and future generations of highly coherent, low-noise semi-conductor lasers, one of the key enabling technologies for distributed acoustic sensing.
“Concluding the acquisition of RIO is a further important step in our strategy to deliver the full potential of OptaSense as the global leader in distributed fibre sensing,” said QinetiQ CEO Leo Quinn. “We are committed to supporting and accelerating the business growth and development as appropriate with acquisitions and partnerships as needed. RIO has natural synergies with OptaSense and secures its access to a key supplier in the market.”
Magnus McEwen-King, OptaSense managing director, said, “Having RIO within the group enables us to make the necessary investments in the next generation of OptaSense equipment, especially within the subsea and seismic survey segments of the oil and gas sector where high performance and high reliability in harsh environments are essential.”
A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses research and innovation to provide high-end technical expertise and advice to customers in the global aerospace, defense and security markets. OptaSense is a platform technology which has applications in a number of markets, including infrastructure security, principally providing leak detection and third-party intrusion detection for oil and gas pipelines.