Anaheim-Based Datum Inc. Buys Competitor

Datum Inc., a maker of telecommunications products, said Monday that it has acquired a competitor in a deal that will double its revenue.

Datum paid about $26 million in cash and stock for the Irvine-based Efratom division of Ball Corp. in Muncie, Ind. The purchase price consisted of $15 million in cash and 1.3 million in Datum stock, about a third of its shares outstanding.

“It is a beautiful fit for them because they are in the same business,” said Allen Strand, an analyst with Crowell, Weedon & Co. in Los Angeles.

Both companies make timing equipment for telephone systems. Datum, which had revenue of $30.9 million last year, manufactures for hard wire telephone systems. Efratom, which had revenue of $36.5 million last year, makes products for cellular phone systems.

The combination will strengthen Datum’s presence overseas, said its president, Louis B. Horwitz. As part of the sale, Datum inherits a manufacturing facility near Munich, Germany, and a joint venture in China.

Shares of Datum stock closed Monday at $10.375 a share, down 37.5 cents from Friday’s closing price on the Nasdaq exchange.