Pegatron Corp (和碩), an Apple Inc assembly partner, yesterday said that it would fully absorb metal casing subsidiary Casetek Holdings Ltd (鎧勝) in a NT$14.5 billion (US$490.93 million) deal to improve the companies’ competitiveness in the phone assembly supply chain.
When Pegatron and Casetek suspended trading earlier in the day, speculation swirled that a possible purchase by China’s Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) might be in the cards, but the announcement of the merger dispelled any conjecture.
The board of directories of each company agreed that Pegasus Ace Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pegatron, would purchase Casetek in a reverse triangular merger, Pegatron chief financial officer Louise Wu (吳薌薌) told reporters, adding that after Pegasus Ace acquired Casetek, it would be dissolved and Casetek would become a 100 percent subsidiary of Pegatron.
Photo: CNA
“As mid-range brands are increasingly pressured to cost down, we need to be more flexible when it comes to meeting customer needs,” Wu said. “Consolidating Pegatron with Casetek means that we can share staff, resources and business freely, without being bound by our responsibilities to two sets of stockholders.”
Casetek is to be delisted from the local stock market upon completion of the deal. The date for the consolidation is set to be Feb. 26 next year.
The merger with Pegatron would better enable it to coordinate with Casetek, which would help both companies be more competitive, Wu said.
According to a joint statement, Pegatron is to buy Casetek common stock at a price of NT$87.5 per share, implying a 21.4 percent premium over Casetek’s average share price over the past 10 trading days.
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