Laird Announces Further Expansion In Thermal Products And Solutions
London (October 26, 2005) - The Laird Group PLC ("Laird") announces today the acquisition of Melcor Corporation and its Chinese subsidiary Melcor Hua Yua ("Melcor") from Fedders Corporation for a total cash consideration of $17.4million (£9.85million) plus $2.6million (£1.5million) for the purchase of a third-party minority interest in Melcor's Chinese joint venture, of which $0.65million (£0.4million) is payable to key management personnel after two years subject to the continued retention of such personnel.
Melcor provides advanced thermal management solutions to a wide variety of end use markets. It is a leading manufacturer and supplier of thermoelectric modules and cooling systems for aerospace, medical and specialist industrial applications. Melcor designs and manufactures its products from facilities in New Jersey, United States and in Quanzhou, China.
In the year ended 31 December, 2004, Melcor reported revenues of $13.5million (£7.6million) and operating profits of $2.3million (£1.3million).
The business and its management will be integrated into Laird Technologies' growing thermal management business and will benefit from Laird's greater product development and application engineering resources, customer presence and global reach. Laird's thermal management business complements its existing global market-leading positions in electromagnetic interference ("EMI") shielding and cellular wireless antennae products and solutions.
The acquisition of Melcor follows two successful acquisitions in the last twelve months in Laird Technologies. In January 2005 we acquired Cateron Corporation, the global leader in the design and supply of EMI shielding to the PC notebook market. In October 2004 we acquired Centurion Wireless Technologies, the global leader in the design and supply of cellular handset antennae, and which has recently shipped its one billionth cellular antennae.
Commenting on the transaction, Peter Hill, Chief Executive of Laird, said:
"Melcor represents a further step in our strategy of establishing leading positions and key technologies in our core markets where we see opportunities for growth. The acquisition provides us with additional technology from which to develop the next generation of thermal management products, so as to provide our customers with the solutions they require as thermal issues in systems and devices become increasingly important."
For enquiries:
The Laird Group PLC
Peter Hill, Chief Executive
Jonathan Silver, Finance Director
Tel: 020 7468 4040
The Maitland Consultancy
Brian Hudspith
Charlotte Barker
Tel: 020 7379 515
The Laird Group:
Laird is a leading global electronics and security systems group employing some 9,000 people in operations in North America, Europe and across Asia.
Laird Technologies is the global market leader in the design and supply of electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, thermal interface products and wireless antennae solutions for all sectors of the electronics industry, including telecommunications, data transfer and information technology, as well as to the automotive, aerospace and defence, consumer electronics, medical and industrial markets. Its products, often co-designed in conjunction with customers, are critical in protecting or enhancing the performance of electronic devices.
Melcor:
Melcor was founded in 1959 and has been at the forefront of the development and manufacture of thermoelectric coolers. The business operates from a facility in New Jersey, United States and through its subsidiary MHY in Quanzhou, China and employs some 300 people. The business was acquired by Fedders Corporation, a leading supplier of air conditioning units for residential and office environments, in 1995. As part of the transaction, all minority shareholder interests in the Chinese subsidiary, MHY, have been acquired.
Thermoelectric coolers:
A thermoelectric module is a small solid state device that can operate as a heat pump or as an electrical power generator. When used as a heat pump the module utilises a physical property of the thermoelectric materials called the Peltier effect to move heat and is called a thermoelectric cooler (TEC). Melcor is a world leader in TEC technology and manufacturing.
In the Peltier effect, when electric current passes through the junction of two different types of conductors it results in a temperature change. However, the practical application of this concept required the development of semiconductors that are good conductors of electricity but poor conductors of heat - the perfect balance for TEC performance. Today, bismuth telluride is primarily used as the semiconductor material, heavily doped to create either an excess (n-type) or a deficiency (p-type) of electrons.
A TEC consists of a number of p- and n-type semiconductor pairs (couples) connected electrically in series and sandwiched between two ceramic plates. When connected to a DC power source, current causes heat to move from one side of the TEC to the other. Naturally, this creates a hot side and a cold side on the TEC. A typical application exposes the cold side of the TEC to the object or substance to be cooled and the hot side to a heat sink which dissipates the heat to the environment