Multi-Fineline Electronix, an Irvine-based maker of circuit boards, will be acquired by a Chinese manufacturer for $610 million, marking another acquisition in a busy week for Orange County businesses.
The mergers and acquisitions of four local companies in recent days has added up to more than $1 billion in sales.
The sale has been approved by the boards of directors at M-Flex and Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co., a maker of sheet metal components. Terms include paying $23.95 per share to M-Flex stockholders.
The purchase by Suzhou Dongshan marks a premium of nearly 41 percent over M-Flex’s closing stock prices Wednesday of $16.75.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and is subject to approval by stockholders at both companies, and regulatory agencies in both the U.S. and China.
On Friday, a New York law firm said it would investigate whether M-Flex’s board breached its fiduciary duty to shop the company around before agreeing to the deal.
M-Flex was founded in Anaheim in 1984. By 2010, Fortune magazine ranked it 35th among 100 of the nation’s fastest growing companies. The company had reported an 88 percent growth over a three year span.
Apple is M-Flex’s biggest client, making up 75 percent of its sales in 2013; 74 percent of its sales in 2012; and 44 percent of its sales in 2011, according to the company’s annual report. Another big client is BlackBerry, which in 2013 made up 11 percent of the company’s sales.
In 2010, M-Flex laid off 85 workers at its U.S. facilities, moving all manufacturing work overseas to China. The following year, M-Flex opened two factories there and reported $800 million in revenue.
M-Flex will keep its Irvine headquarters after the sale is final and operate as an independent business unit of Suzhou Dongshan, according to the merger announcement.
“Positioning M-Flex within a larger manufacturing conglomerate will also open new market opportunities for our flexible printed circuit and assembly solutions, further supporting the company’s long-term growth outlook,” said M-Flex Chief Executive Reza Meshgin in a statement announcing the merger. “In turn, our board has unanimously concluded that partnering with DSBJ is the best strategic path forward for M-Flex.”
Contact the writer: lwilliams@ocregister.com, 714-796-2286
