American Amplifier buys broadcast antenna maker ERI, consolidating RF market
What's the deal? American Amplifier Technologies (AAT)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired majority ownership of Electronics Research Inc. (ERI)Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → from Tom Silliman, who is retiring as president and chief executive officer. Terms were undisclosed. ERI designs, manufactures, and installs broadcast antennas, towers, transmission line, filters, and combiners, and will keep running from its facilities in Indiana.
Why now? Silliman, who led ERI since 1977, is stepping down. The deal hands the company to an acquirer that has spent seven years buying up familiar broadcast names.
What's the endgame? AAT owner Steve Wilde is assembling a portfolio of RF and broadcast firms. The company bought Mauna TowersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2019, Shively LabsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in 2023, and Kathrein-ScalaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in late 2025. ERI adds "significant market share in broadcast antennas," Wilde said, plus a structural steel division and an installation arm.
What changes for customers? Little, according to Wilde. ERI will continue its products and operations, including its Chandler, Indiana, facility, and customers can expect "continuity in service, support and business relationships" through existing contacts.
The backdrop: ERI was founded during World War II making antennas for military aircraft before moving into broadcasting. Its headquarters hold over 100,000ft² of space and a 70,000ft³ anechoic chamber that, per the company, is the largest of its kind in North America.
The signal: The deal continues a steady consolidation of legacy broadcast RF makers under one owner. "ERI, Shively and Kathrein-Scala are names that generations of broadcast engineers know and trust," Wilde said — three brands now sitting inside a company founded in 2008.
Read more: radioworld.com
Image credit: andrewfhart
