Schneider agrees to buy BEI for $562 million

San Francisco, CA— BEI Technologies Inc. and Schneider Electric SA report they’ve agreed to have Schneider’s acquisition subsidiary buy all of BEI’s outstanding shares for $35 each, or approximately $562 million in cash, including about $29 million in net financial debt. Both firms’ boards of directors already have approved the transaction.

Once the tender offer is completed, the agreement calls for any remaining BEI shares to be acquired in a cash merger also for $35 per share. As a result, Schneider’s subsidiary will be merged with BEI. The offer will be subject to customary conditions, including tendering a majority of BEI’s shares on a fully diluted basis. The subsidiary’s payment for the shares is subject to condi-tions, including regulatory approvals.

‘We believe that the combination of BEI and Schneider Electric will further strengthen BEI’s platform and create significant new opportunities to accelerate sales and marketing, technology, research and development, and expansion of sensors-based products in the marketplace,” says Charles Crocker, BEI’s chairman and CEO.

Henri Lachmann, Schneider’s chairman and CEO, adds that, “This acquisition of a leading sensors specialist with strong brand names and excellent reputation for innovation and performance is a breakthrough for our customized sensors platform. BEI brings us outstanding competen-cies and significant potential for cross-fertilization with Crouzet and Kavlico. We are confident that our platform will now benefit from critical size and have the ability to set the standards in the attractive customized sensors market.’

BEI manufactures electronic sensors, motors, actuators, rotary optical encoders, linear encoders with associated digital readouts (DROs), and motion control products used for factory and office automation, medical equipment, military, aviation and space systems. In addition, sales to manufacturers of transportation equipment, including automobiles, trucks and off-road equip-ment, have become a significant addition to BEI’s business in recent years. BEI also manufactures electronic steering wheel position sensors, seat-memory modules, throttle position sensors, inertial navigation systems, and other devices for transportation systems.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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