Diodes Incorporated closes acquisition of Zetex plc

June 13, 2008
The UK-based manufacturer of LED driver ICs has been bought by a Texas-based semiconductor manufacturer.
Diodes Incorporated (NASDAQ:DIOD), a Dallas, Texas-based semiconductor manufacturer and supplier of application-specific standard products within the broad discrete and analog semiconductor markets, has completed the acquisition of Zetex plc (LSE: ZTX) in an all-cash deal.

Headquartered near Manchester in the UK, Zetex is a leading supplier of LED driver ICs.

Zetex currently employs more than 750 people worldwide, and has two wafer fabrication plants in the UK and carries out package development, assembly and test at its facilities in Germany and China and through subcontractors in Asia.

Each Zetex shareholder will receive 85.45 pence in cash per Zetex ordinary share, valuing the fully diluted share capital of Zetex at approximately $176 million (based on a US$:GBP£ exchange rate of 1.9778).

According to Diodes Inc, the companies had a combined 2007 revenue of $528 million. The deal "strengthens Diodes’ product portfolio by expanding into the industrial and automotive markets, and creates significant cross-selling opportunities within the customer base and increases the geographic footprint."

The companies also have complementary wafer processing and packaging technologies, resulting in expanded capabilities and capacity.

Keh-Shew Lu, Diodes’ President and CEO, commented, “We are pleased to close this acquisition, which we believe will further enhance Diodes’ global leadership in discrete and analog semiconductor solutions. We look forward to achieving continued growth and capitalizing on the new business opportunities and geographic expansion resulting from this acquisition.”