M&A

17 November, 2009

UPDATE 2-Arrow Electronics to buy specialty wire firm AE Petsche

* Says deal to add $0.10-$0.12 to 2010 earnings

* Says deal to expand presence in aerospace, defense mkts

* Shares fall more than 2 pct (Adds details, analyst comments and updates stock price)

By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed

BANGALORE, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Arrow Electronics (ARW.N), an electronic parts and computer products distributor, said it agreed to buy A.E. Petsche Co, an Arlington, Texas-based supplier of specialty wire and cable, to boost its presence in the aerospace and defense markets.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Arrow said the deal, expected to close by the end of 2009, will add 10 cents to 12 cents to earnings per share in 2010.

"I would say the deal is a positive firstly, in that the deal is accretive and secondly, it does push Arrow further along into passive components -- a non-semiconductor aspect of their business," Longbow Research analyst Shawn Harrison said.

The acquisition will add to Arrow's global components business segment, which supplies semiconductors, passives, electromechanical, connector and computer products, and accounted for about 68 percent of total revenue for 2008.

Passive components can in many instances typically carry higher margins, Harrison said.

The last acquisition that Arrow completed was in July 2008, when it bought LED products maker Achieva Electronics Pte Ltd.

"There has been a pause in acquisition activity by Arrow throughout the downturn, and now that they have liquidity, this acquisition may signal that there is more to come," Harrison said.

Privately held A.E. Petsche, with about 250 employees, had total sales of about $220 million in 2008, Arrow, whose rivals include Avnet (AVT.N), said in a statement.

Arrow shares were down 11 cents at $27.66 in afternoon trade Tuesday on The New York Stock Exchange. They touched a low of $27.15 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Source: http://www.reuters.com