Ayala unit acquires EPIQ subsidiaries for 43 million euro

MANILA, Philippines - Ayala-led electronics manufacturing services provider Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) has signed an agreement with EPIQ NV for the acquisition of the latter’s subsidiaries in Bulgaria, Mexico and the Czech Republic for approximately 43 million euro in cash and 200 million in newly-issued shares.

The purchase, made through IMI Europe U.A, is targeted to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2011. ING Bank N.V. acted as the financial advisor in the transaction.

The shares to be issued to IMI represent a 12-percent ownership in EPIQ.

As part of IMI’s strategic initiatives, the acquisition will enable IMI to establish a global geographic footprint in manufacturing as well as in technology development and engineering.

IMI president and chief executive officer Arthur R. Tan said the company is pursuing this value-enhancing acquisition to expand its customer base and to support its market specialization strategy in the automotive and industrial segments.

“As regional manufacturing picks up steam, we are expanding our operations to locations near our global customers in Europe and North America to be of better service to them,” he said.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Gilles Bernard, EPIQ chief executive Officer, will join the management team of IMI.

“We are glad to become part of the IMI Group and look forward to providing EPIQ and IMI customers the access to a vastly increased range of facilities and capabilities,” he said.

IMI is a leading provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services. It serves diversified markets that include those in the automotive, industrial, medical, solar energy, telecommunications infrastructure, storage device, and consumer electronics industries.

Committed to cost-effective and top-quality customized solutions, IMI’s comprehensive capabilities and global manufacturing presence allow it to take on specific outsourcing needs. Its flexible solutions encompass design and product development, manufacturing, and order fulfillment. IMI is consistently ranked among the top 30 EMS providers in the world. It has manufacturing and engineering facilities in the Philippines, Singapore, China and the US.

EPIQ, on the other hand, is an EMS provider that designs, produces, and sells electronic and electro-mechanical systems and sub-systems. These are drive- and/or control elements especially for supply in the automotive and industrial equipment markets, household appliances, and other applications with plastic parts and/or electronic components.

EPIQ provides a wide range of integrated services from product development to mass production. Production comprises the design of printed circuits and/or spray casting of plastics up to and including the supply of assembled and tested systems and sub-systems. EPIQ also provides all the required engineering, R&D, and logistics management.

EPIQ is headquartered in Europe with manufacturing and engineering facilities in France, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Mexico. The EPIQ subsidiaries subject of the transaction generated a combined turnover of 90 million euro and net income of approximately 4 million euro in 2010.