Leading industrial motor maker Teco Electric and Machinery Co Ltd (東元電機) and power cable manufacturer Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華) on Friday announced that they would be forming a strategic alliance through a share exchange.
Under the deal, the two companies plan to issue 171.1 million and 205.33 million new shares respectively, and then exchange shares, with the share swap ratio set at one Walsin share per 0.83 Teco shares, Teco spokesperson Kevin Yeh (葉文中) and Walsin chief of staff Sophi Pan (潘思如) told a joint news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange in Taipei.
After the transaction, Teco would hold a 6.37 percent stake in Walsin and Walsin would have an 8 percent stake in Teco, the companies said.
Photo: Bill Chen, Taipei Times
The firms expect to complete the share exchange on Jan. 6, they said.
“To enhance the competitiveness of both parties, we will cooperate ... in the deployment of next-generation smart grids, smart manufacturing and new energy industry applications,” Teco said in a regulatory filing.
The deal “is expected to combine the advantages of both parties to establish a long-term cooperative relationship on the basis of mutual benefit ... to jointly open up new industrial situations,” it added.
Founded in 1956 for motor production, Teco also develops and designs infrastructure support solutions and energy-efficient electrical products.
Although sales in the motor segment fell this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gains from the company’s financial investments, the reversal of income tax provisions and better cost controls helped the company post a net profit of NT$2.73 billion (US$94.73 million) in the first three quarters of this year, up 5.41 percent from NT$2.59 billion a year earlier.
Earnings per share in the nine-month period were NT$1.41, compared with NT$1.33 a year earlier.
Walsin Lihwa was established in 1966 and is dedicated to the fields of wire and cabling, stainless steel, renewable energy, smart grids and commercial real estate.
The company reported net profit of NT$4.82 billion in the first three quarters, a surge of 118 percent from NT$2.21 billion a year earlier, raising earnings per share to NT$1.46 from NT$0.66 over the period.
“The strategic alliance will focus on four primary areas, which are smart grids, the integration of existing clients and industries, the new energy market of the US and green energy industry development,” Walsin said in its statement.
“By leveraging the strengths of both parties ... we can deepen the relationship and jointly explore opportunities in various industries,” the company said.
While the two firms said that they expect synergy, market watchers said that the alliance could counter New Taipei City-based developer Pau Jar Group’s (寶佳集團) growing influence in Teco after its 10 percent capital reduction proposal was rejected by Teco shareholders on May 11.
Due to Teco’s strong balance sheet and stable cash flow, Pau Jar has been accumulating the electromechanical company’s shares since last year through PJ Asset Management Co Ltd (寶佳資產管理), Jaryuan Investment Co Ltd (嘉源投資) and Yuan Tong Investment Co (源通投資), becoming Teco’s single largest shareholder.
To counter Pau Jar, Teco in April proposed that strategic investors be invited to participate in private placement to dilute Pau Jar’s shareholding, but it dropped the plan later that month.
Nonetheless, the share exchange between Teco and Walsin is expected to reduce Pau Jar’s shareholding in Teco from 26.46 percent to 24.34 percent, market watchers said.
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