THE parent company of a Presteigne manufacturer is in the process of a £35million takeover.
Intelek plc – parent to Labtech Microwave which was established and still has a manufacturing centre in Presteigne – has had a takeover offer tabled by an American company, Teledyne Technologies.
Established in 1984 in Presteigne, with the aim of specialising in non-standard printed circuit board (PCB) production, Labtech Microwave soon became one of the first independent companies in the UK to manufacture PTFE (polytetraflouroethylene) metal backed microwave PCBs.
The business grew steadily and in 1990 was acquired by Intelek plc a London Stock Exchange company.
During 1995 Labtech opened a purpose-built pcb production factory in Presteigne, and this culminated in significant growth during the remainder of the century, and was awarded the Queen's Award for Export Achievement in 2001 as recognition of the company's outstanding business performance.
It now looks likely that the company started in Mid Wales could be embarking on a new era under Teledyne after all.
The proposed take over of the company is so that New York Stock Exchange registered Teledyne, can expand its capabilities and Labtech is an integral part of that process.
Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Teledyne said: “The proposed acquisition of Intelek should further expand Teledyne’s capabilities in microwave systems, and we are delighted that the directors of Intelek have decided unanimously to recommend the Offer to the Intelek Shareholders.
“The operations of Intelek are highly complementary with Teledyne’s existing microwave businesses.”
Ian Brodie, chief executive officer of Intelek believes that the take over will help develop Intelek’s businesses, including Labtech Microwave.
He said: “The directors of Intelek have focused our strategy on further developing our satellite and microwave communications businesses.
“This offer is at a substantial premium and we unanimously recommend that shareholders accept this offer. Finally, we are pleased that Teledyne has indicated that, under its ownership, Teledyne will continue to support and further develop Intelek’s microwave businesses and employees.”