Black Box Corporation
 | |
| public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: BBOX |
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Founded |
Lawrence, Pennsylvania June 25, 1975[1] |
| Headquarters | 1000 Park Drive, Lawrence, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
E.C. Sykes (CEO) |
| Products |
Digital Signage KVM switches Network Management Network Security Datacenter WAN Optimization |
| Revenue |
 US$992M (FY 2015)[2] |
|
US$28.574M (FY 2015)[2] | |
|
US$15.3M (FY 2015)[2] | |
| Total assets |
 US$686M (FY 2015)[3] |
| Total equity |
US$337M (FY 2015)[3] |
Number of employees | 4,300 |
| Website |
www |
Black Box Corporation, also doing business as Black Box Network Services, is headquartered in the Pittsburgh suburb of Lawrence, Pennsylvania, United States. The company is a provider of communications products.
History
The company has a long history. In the 1970s it was called the Expandor division of Micom Systems, and offered printer switches popularly called "black boxes".[4] It published a popular "Black Box Catalog".[5] Another division, Interlan, sold local area network equipment. After a slow-down in business in the mid-1980s and Black Monday of 1987, Odyssey Partners acquired the company in 1988, through a leveraged buyout. A proposed sale was met with a lawsuit, although the Interlan division was sold to Racal in 1989.[6][7] Micom was re-organized in 1990 after losses from the debt servicing. Despite getting $5.5 million in fees for the deal, Drexel Burnham Lambert filed for its own bankruptcy the same year.[8] The no-action letter from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in June 1990 has been used a legal precedent for similar cases.[9]
The profitable catalog sales business moved from Simi Valley in California to Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania and changed its name to Black Box Incorporated.[10][11] The telecommunications product business was split out to a subsidiary called Micom Communications Corporation.[12] An initial public offering was made in December 1992 to cover the debt used to finance the 1990 deal (after two previous failed attempts), under the name MB Communications.[13] In 1994, Micom was spun off, and acquired by Nortel in June 1996.[14]
References
- ↑ https://www.corporations.state.pa.us/corp/soskb/Corp.asp?394208[]
- 1 2 3 Black Box (BBOX) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest.
- 1 2 Black Box (BBOX) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest.
- ↑ "Black Box Corporation". PC Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ↑ "What does Rohm and Hass think about the Black Box Protocol Converter A/S-1?". Computerworld. November 24, 1980. p. 62. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Interlan for Sale?". Computerworld. September 19, 1988. p. 102. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Racal Interlan's president shares plans for the future". Computerworld. June 5, 1989. p. 9. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ↑ John Mederis (July 24, 1990). "Black Box Buyout Fails to Work Magic: Technology: The company loses $34 million on sales of $107 million despite layoffs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Securities Act Sections: Questions and Answers of General Applicability". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. September 22, 2016.
- ↑ "Black Box Corporation History". Funding Universe. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Form SC 13G/A". US SEC. February 14, 1994. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Black Box Hopes to Raise $98 Million With Offerings". Los Angeles Times. July 17, 1990. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ↑ James F. Peltz (December 8, 1992). "Micom in New Wall Street Bid : Stock: Computer interlink maker opens third attempt to sell securities to the public to reduce its debt burden". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ↑ "Schedule 13 D/A: Tender Offer Statement". June 17, 1996. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
