FLIR buys video software company for $46m cash

PORTLAND, Ore.—Thermal camera maker FLIR Systems on Dec. 28 closed a $46 million cash deal for Traficon International, a provider of video imaging software.

“The algorithms and processing capabilities are of great interest to FLIR, which we can take along and tweak for security applications and integrate with our thermal and visible cameras,” Andy Teich, president of FLIR's commercial systems division, told Security Systems News.

The Traficon deal comes just two months after FLIR bought Lorex for $59 million cash.

Based in Belgium, Traficon makes video detection technologies for traffic applications. For example, it makes video analytics that detect and distinguish between vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The software is used for incident detection, data collection and to monitor lights in intersections.

In business for 25 years, Traficon has a large installed base worldwide and an established distribution network. This will help FLIR accelerate the adoption of its technology in these applications, Teich said.

At the same time, the Traficon buy is key to FLIR's plans to grow its security business.

“We are aggressively pursuing lower-cost thermal camera development, and [the Traficon and Lorex deals are] a key ingredient to bring cost down a significant increment that will make the technology more affordable [for more applications],” Teich said.

He expects that FLIR will introduce cameras embedded with the Traficon technology “toward the end of 2013.”

FLIR is a public company. As of Jan. 9, its market cap was $3.5 billion and its enterprise value was $3.3 billion.