Premier Farnell To Sell Akron Brass; Says FY16 Profit Broadly In Line With View

(RTTNews) - Premier Farnell Plc. (PFL.L), a distributor of technology products and solutions, announced Friday that it has entered into a conditional agreement with respect to the sale of Akron Brass Holding Corp. to IDEX Corp. for cash consideration of $224.2 million or 153.8 million pounds.

Total consideration is payable in cash on completion, subject to customary adjustments. Completion of the deal is expected by the end of March 2016.

The company said the disposal will enable further focus on executing the initiatives identified as part of its operational review to restore growth in profitability in fiscal 2017. It will provide increased financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities within the core electronics distribution business.

Net cash proceeds arising from the disposal will be used to reduce Premier Farnell's existing indebtedness and to redeem its preference shares.

Mark Whiteling, Premier Farnell Interim Chief Executive, said, "The review confirmed that there are significant opportunities to improve the operational and financial performance of Premier Farnell. The sale of Akron Brass will enable us to focus on executing the initiatives identified as part of our review in order to restore growth in profitability in FY17."

The company further said that following the year end on 31 January, the fiscal 2016 profit outcome is expected to be broadly in line with recent guidance.

Premier Farnell expects to announce its preliminary results for the year on March 17.