Nov 29, 2001 Plexus, a Neenah, Wis. EMS company, signed an asset purchase agreement that will allow them to acquire six plants, including MCMS' Nampa, Idaho headquarters and operations in San Jose; Xiamen, China; Penang, Malaysia; Monterrey, Mexico; and Durham, North Carolina. Plexus will pay $45 million in cash for the MCMS' assets that were part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings.
MCMS filed for bankruptcy in July after experiencing a significant drop in customer demand and a lack of funds to pay creditors. Plexus' bid of $45 million was higher than the bid offered by Manufacturers' Services Ltd., a Concord, Mass. EMS company that wanted to pay $43.5 million for MCMS assets.
MCMS executives are expected to recommend the approval of the transaction to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware at a meeting scheduled for December 4th. If approved by the bankruptcy court, the transaction is slated to close in January.
"The acquisition of MCMS meets several of our long range strategic objectives, principally in immediately gaining a strong presence in Asia," said John Nussbaum, Plexus' president and chief executive in a written statement. "The addition of several new tier-one customers in the optical networking, data communications and computer-related industries will add revenue in 2002 and increase capacity utilization at current Plexus sites."
