Major acquisition of electronics company
Simrad Yachting has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding
shares of Lowrance for 37 US dollars per share. The tender offer will be subject to a majority minimum tender condition and other customary conditions, but will not be
subject to any financing conditions.
After the tender offer and the merger, Lowrance will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Simrad Yachting.
Lowrance is one of the world’s largest providers of marine electronics to
leisure boats with strong presence in the fish finders and GPS navigation systems segments of the market. It has produced hand-held GPS systems for over 10 years for boats, planes and cars.
Simrad Yachting is a leading provider of marine electronics to high-end
leisure boats and smaller commercial vessels. Because there is very little overlap between the companies, the merger is not expected to face significant regulatory hurdles or result in significant staff reductions.
Darrell Lowrance, current Chairman and CEO of
Lowrance, who founded the company in 1957, will become the Chief Executive Officer of the combined company and Jan Berner, current CEO of Simrad will become Deputy Chief Executive Officer.