Simrad Yachting AS and Lowrance Electronics, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEIX) announced
today that Simrad Yachting has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding
shares of Lowrance for USD 37.00 per share. The acquisition price
represents an enterprise value for Lowrance of approximately MUSD 215 and
a premium of 48 percent over the closing price of its shares on Friday,
January 27, 2006.
Under the terms of a merger agreement entered into by the parties, Navico
Acquisition Corp., a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary of Simrad
Yachting, will commence a cash tender offer for all of the outstanding
shares of Lowrance at USD 37.00 per share and will complete a second step
merger at the same price. The
tender offer will be subject to a majority
minimum tender condition and other customary conditions, but will not be
subject to any financing conditions. After the tender offer and the
merger, Lowrance will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Simrad Yachting.
The board of directors of Lowrance has unanimously approved the merger
agreement, tender offer and merger and recommended that Lowrance's
stockholders tender their shares into the tender offer.
Lowrance is one of the world's largest providers of marine electronics to
leisure boats and has a particularly strong presence in the
fish finders
and GPS navigation systems segments of the market. In addition to marine
electronic products, Lowrance has produced for over 10 years hand held GPS
mapping products for campers and hikers as well GPS navigation systems for
the automotive and aviation markets.
Simrad Yachting is a leading provider of marine electronics to high-end
leisure boats and smaller commercial vessels. Simrad Yachting is owned by
Altor 2003 Fund, a Nordic based private equity fund advised by Altor
Equity Partners AB, and Kongsberg Gruppen, a Norwegian based maritime
electronics and defense company.