Merix to acquire Hong Kong board supplier

Printed circuit board supplier Merix Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the operations of PCB maker Eastern Pacific Circuits Limited (EPC), based in Hong Kong, for $120 million in cash.

Merix, which manufactures advanced, multilayer rigid boards, expects to strengthen its Far East presence by acquiring EPC, a low-cost, mid-to-high volume board supplier.

EPC operates four plants in southern China and one in Hong Kong totaling 869,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space. The company has high volume capabilities up to 18 layers and operates sales and customer service offices in the U.S., Canada, U.K., China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

For the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2004, EPC's preliminary unaudited sales were $143.0 million and adjusted EBITDA was $14.1 million.

The transaction, which includes earn-out consideration of up to $8.0 million based on calendar 2005 adjusted EBITDA, is expected to close June 2005.

- EE Times