EnerSys agreed to acquire Ultralife Corp. for $16 a share in cash, paying a 166% premium for the Newark, N.Y., battery maker to deepen its push into military power systems.
The deal values Ultralife at about $320 million including the assumption of net debt, the companies said Tuesday. The premium is measured against Ultralife’s closing price on Monday, the last trading day before the announcement.
Building a defense power platform
Ultralife makes rechargeable and non-rechargeable batteries, battery systems and accessories for military communications and other specialized uses. It generated $191 million of revenue in fiscal 2025 and employs more than 700 people, with operations in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and China.
Reading, Pa.-based EnerSys said the purchase broadens its exposure to defense applications such as munitions, soldier power, drones, counter-drone systems and autonomous platforms, and expands its capacity to make batteries that comply with federal rules on foreign entities of concern. It also gives EnerSys permitted manufacturing space to scale up its liquid reserve battery technology. EnerSys expects $15 million to $20 million of annual run-rate cost savings within 18 months and says the deal should add to adjusted earnings per share within about 18 months of closing, excluding one-time costs.
Structure and timing
An EnerSys subsidiary will launch a tender offer for all Ultralife shares at $16 apiece, followed by a merger. EnerSys will pay from cash on hand, and the deal has no financing condition. Both boards approved it unanimously. Closing requires that a majority of Ultralife’s shares be tendered and that regulators approve, and the companies expect to finish in the first quarter of calendar 2027, after which Ultralife’s stock will be delisted.
XMS Capital Partners is EnerSys’s financial adviser, and Reed Smith is its legal counsel.
