Ayala-owned IMI acquires 80% of UK firm

MANILA, Philippines -  Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) continues its global expansion as it acquires a majority stake in UK-based specialist contract electronics manufacturer STI Enterprises Ltd.

 IMI said yesterday it entered into an agreement to acquire 80 percent of the specialist contract electronics manufacturer, which operates a factory in Cebu.

STI Enterprises also has two factories in the UK and operates a design center in London.

The company provides electronics design and manufacturing solutions in both circuit board assembly and full-box build manufacturing for high-reliability industries.

IMI said the acquisition is part of the company’s strategic initiatives as it would enable it to expand into the aerospace and defense markets while strengthening the industrial segment in manufacturing as well as in technology development and engineering

“IMI is pursuing this value-enhancing acquisition to expand its customer base into the aerospace and defense segments and to support its market specialization strategy in the industrial segment,”

 IMI chief executive officer Arthur Tan said.

“As regional manufacturing picks up steam, we are expanding our operations to locations near our global customers in the United Kingdom and grow our support from our Philippine home base,” Tan added.

IMI said the closing of the transaction is subject to completion conditions and regulatory approval.

Upon the completion of the acquisition, STI Group managing director Simon Best would continue to hold the same position for STI.

“We would be delighted to become part of the IMI Group and look forward to providing STI and IMI customers the access to a vastly increased range of facilities and capabilities,” Best said.

IMI is a global manufacturing solutions company of the Ayala Group. It is a leading provider of electronics manufacturing services and power semiconductor assembly and test services.

It currently has manufacturing and engineering facilities in the Philippines, Singapore, China, and the US.

 In September last year, IMI announced its acquisition of a 76 percent stake in VIA, a leading optical bonding and display solutions provider, for 47.4 million euros.