Vivato deal is in the works

A Virginia-based maker of rugged handheld computers plans to buy long-range wireless network equipment company Vivato Networks Inc., which has Spokane operations.

Catcher Holdings Inc. has an agreement to buy Portland-headquartered Vivato Networks, which employs two in the Spokane area and provided equipment for the city’s wireless Hot Zone. Two-year-old Catcher Inc. also has local ties, using contract manufacturer Key Tronic Corp. to make its $7,000 handheld computers aimed at the military and first responders, said Hal Turner, chairman and CEO of Catcher Holdings.

“We clearly will build upon those individuals” in Spokane, Turner said.

A combination of Vivato’s wireless technology with Catcher’s device will create a “Superman product” for first responders, the military and security personnel, Turner said. Vivato uses contract manufacturer Servatron Inc. of Spokane Valley to make its wireless units.

The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter but still subject to regulatory approval, calls for Catcher to buy all of Vivato Networks’ common stock in exchange for 2.5 million of its own shares. Once merged, the companies likely will be renamed but maintain their current titles for brands or products, Turner said.

Catcher is redoing its sales forecasts, Turner said, but he foresees selling “multiple thousands” of units over three years. The company has “several large, government-funded contracts that we are expecting imminent awards on,” he said.

Publicly traded Catcher Holdings posted a net loss of about $8.3 million for the six months ending June 30.

Gary Haycox, a former Intel employee turned Vivato CEO, will become executive vice president and chief technology officer for the merged company, he said. He anticipates bringing on several former Vivato workers, although most of the growth will likely happen in Portland, he said.

With about 17 total employees, Catcher makes a multipurpose wireless device of the same name designed to capture and relay data. With the tagline “Command + Control + Communicate,” the 5-pound Catcher 2.0 is equipped with a GPS unit, two video cameras, a digital voice recorder, a fingerprint scanner and an optional iris scanner, according to Catcher.

Vivato boasts its wireless antennas and base stations can provide wireless data to areas such as neighborhoods and campuses at ranges of more than two miles. The company also will maintain its professional-services group, which brings in partner companies to solve clients’ objectives, Haycox said.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe uses four Vivato panels to offer high-speed Internet access to customers miles away from its base tower, Haycox said.

Future applications for the Catcher could include industries such as mining and construction, Turner said.

Vivato once had as many as 80 employees here. Founded in late 2002 by three former Agilent Technologies engineers, Vivato Networks became a fast-rising firm. The next year, it landed $44.3 million in venture capital, which area officials at the time called the largest single venture capital investment in a Spokane company.

But in December 2005, Vivato laid off about 45 people in Spokane Valley and shut down operations there. Last September, a new group of owners bought the company’s portfolio of patents and technology and moved its headquarters from Dallas to Portland.

While Spokane Valley-based General Dynamics Itronix Corp. makes rugged notebook computers for military and other markets, Turner contended they are not direct competitors because Itronix is more focused on field service workers.