Satellite navigation company Garmin Ltd. has acquired a Tucson company that designs and manufactures electronic dog-training equipment.
The company's main subsidiary, Kansas-based Garmin International Inc., signed an agreement to purchase Tucson-based Tri-Tronics Inc.
Financial terms of the deal, which was expected to close this week, were not disclosed.
Tri-Tronics has between 80 and 90 employees, said Ted Gartner, a spokesman for Garmin. The company's current leadership will remain in place, Gartner said.
Tri-Tronics, at 1705 S. Research Loop, was founded in 1968 in Tucson by Jerry Gonda, according to the company's website. It makes electronic collars used by trainers, breeders, hunters and pet owners.
Garmin entered the sporting-dog market in 2007 with a Global Positioning System dog-tracking system that pinpoints the location of the dog for hunters.
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Tri-Tronics will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. and it will continue operations at its Tucson headquarters.
In trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares for Garmin closed at $33.03 Thursday, up 98 cents from the previous day's close.
The company, which controls a large segment of the market for GPS devices, had total revenue of $2.69 billion in 2010, down 9 percent from $2.95 billion in 2009, according to its fiscal year financial summary.
Contact reporter Dale Quinn at dquinn@azstarnet.com or 573-4197.