UK tech manufacturer TT Electronics PLC (LSE:TTG) has agreed to a takeover by Swiss rival Cicor Technologies in a £287 million cash and shares deal.
Under the offer, shareholders in the London-listed small-cap will receive 100p in cash and 0.0028 new Cicor shares for each TT share, valuing the company at 155p per share based on Cicor’s latest closing price.
Following completion, TT shareholders will hold approximately 10% of the enlarged Cicor group, which will have combined annual revenues exceeding CHF1.2 billion (£1.1 billion).
The offer represents a 64% premium to TT’s closing share price of 95p on Wednesday, and a 53% premium to the three-month average price.
However, TT shares were trading above 150p for most of last year and were not far from 200p in early 2023.
Warren Tucker, chair of TT, said the board "consider that TT's insufficient scale has affected its growth and profitability, and has constrained its ability to optimise its portfolio.
"In addition, the uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook represents elevated risks given TT's scale.
"Furthermore, the TT directors are cognisant of the challenges and low trading liquidity that companies of TT's size face in the UK public markets."
He called Cicor’s offer compelling, delivering immediate cash value and future upside through synergies, while the shares element ensures the merger supports potential long-term growth for shareholders.
Cicor chief executive Alexander Hagemann described the deal as “a decisive, transformative step” that will create the world’s largest pure play electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider.
Cicor is part-owned by US private equity firm One Equity Partners.
A mix-and-match facility will be offered to eligible TT shareholders to adjust the balance of cash and Cicor shares they receive. Cicor also plans to create a CREST depositary interest structure to facilitate trading of the new shares in the UK.