Premier Farnell, the maker of the low-cost Raspberry Pi mini computer, has agreed to sell itself for £615m to the Swiss industrial components maker Dätwyler.
The Leeds-based electronic components distributor said Dätwyler would pay 165p in cash for each Premier Farnell share – 51% more than the UK company’s closing share price on 13 June. Premier Farnell shares rose 50% to 163.5p.
Premier signed a deal with Sony in 2012 to manufacture the Raspberry Pi in the UK, at Sony’s factory in Bridgend in Wales. The computer was developed by the non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation and until then had been manufactured in China.
The credit card-sized computer costs about £20 and is designed to get young people interested in computer programming. In 2012 Premier Farnell, then led by Harriet Green, said demand was running at 700 units per second. Despite the success of Raspberry Pi, Premier Farnell has struggled more recently along with other electronic components companies.
After a profit warning last July the company ousted its then chief executive, Laurence Bain. Sales had fallen sharply in the UK and the US and Premier Farnell was affected by supply problems that held back manufacture of the Raspberry Pi.
Premier Farnell, founded in Leeds in 1939 and listed on the stock exchange in 1966, announced the takeover alongside a trading update for the first quarter of its financial year. Sales from continuing operations fell 1.4% in the three months to 1 May. Excluding Raspberry Pi, sales fell 2.6%.
Jos Opdeweegh, Premier Farnell’s chief executive, said: “The sales trends of 2015/16 continued into the first quarter of this financial year, with strength in continental Europe and Asia Pacific and difficult trading conditions in North America and UK.
“I am pleased we have reached an agreement with Dätwyler on the terms of a recommended offer for Premier Farnell. I believe the combination of the two companies represents a strong strategic fit and is highly attractive for customers, shareholders and colleagues.”
