TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Yageo Corp 2327.TW said it would buy U.S.-based Pulse Electronics for $740 million, marking its biggest deal ever as it looks to expand in the United States and Europe.
The cash offer is the second mid-sized bid from a Taiwanese electronics company to buy a U.S.-based firm in recent months. The other one was Foxconn’s $866 million offer for PC accessories company Belkin in March.
Acquiring Pulse, a maker of electronic components for cars and heavy industries, will strengthen Yageo’s position in the automotive electronics market, a Yageo executive told a news conference on Tuesday, underscoring the growing focus on new energy vehicles that use more smart technology.
Pulse, which also sells into the wireless and wireline communications market and defense industry, won several key customers last year, including a new contract to supply to a leading U.S. electric vehicle company, it said in January.
Last year, Pulse reported revenue of $315 million and a net profit of $34.6 million.
Yageo provides resistors, capacitors, wireless components, and soft ferrite products for consumer, automotive and industrial markets, according to the company’s website.
The company’s shares have had a big run recently after years of middling performance – climbing seven fold in the past year.
Its revenue rose 62 percent in the March quarter to a record $11 billion Taiwan dollar ($368.25 million) while the company posted its highest ever net profit as well.
Reporting by Jess Macy Yu, Chyen Yee Lee and Taiwan bureau; Additional reporting by Kane Wu from Hong Kong; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Himani Sarkar
