Seagate Technology and LaCie have announced an exclusive agreement for Seagate to acquire a controlling interest in LaCie, pending regulatory approval. The offer values LaCie at approximately $186 million, including acquired net cash of approximately $65 million as of March 31, 2012. This represents a premium of 29% to LaCie’s average closing stock price over the 30 trading days ended May 22, 2012.
Seagate Technology and LaCie have announced an exclusive agreement for Seagate to acquire a controlling interest in LaCie, pending regulatory approval. The offer values LaCie at approximately $186 million, including acquired net cash of approximately $65 million as of March 31, 2012. This represents a premium of 29% to LaCie’s average closing stock price over the 30 trading days ended May 22, 2012.
Seagate has offered to purchase 64.5% of LaCie’s outstanding shares from Philippe Spruch, LaCie’s chairman and CEO and his affiliate. Following the close of the sale of his shares, Mr. Spruch would join Seagate and lead the company’s consumer storage products division. Patrick Connolly, currently vice president and general manager of Seagate’s retail group, would report to Spruch, as would Pierre van der Elst, who currently serves as deputy general manager of LaCie.
The acquisition would combine two complementary storage product and technology portfolios, adding LaCie’s line of premium consumer storage, network-attached storage and software offerings to Seagate’s diverse range of storage products. The transaction terms include LaCie’s divisions in the Americas, Europe and Asia, boosting Seagate’s growth strategy in Europe and Japan, adding engineering and software development capacities, and bridging relationships with key LaCie retailers.
This share purchase transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2012 pending governmental reviews in the United States, Germany, and France. Seagate would then acquire the remaining 35.5% of outstanding shares in accordance with French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) regulations.
