CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ:LFUS), the global leader in circuit protection, today announced it has acquired ACCEL AB, based in Vänersborg, Sweden, in a cash transaction. ACCEL is a manufacturer of advanced electromechanical products, including sensors and switches, primarily for the automotive industry. ACCEL had 2011 revenues of approximately €16 million.
“The acquisition of ACCEL gives us an initial foothold in the growing automotive sensor market and is consistent with our strategy to expand beyond circuit protection into adjacent, complementary technologies,” said Dieter Roeder, Vice President and General Manager of the Littelfuse Automotive Business Unit.
“ACCEL’s pipeline of new products and strong relationships with OEM and Tier 1 automotive customers around the world provide excellent growth opportunities for Littelfuse. In addition, ACCEL’s facility in Kaunas, Lithuania, provides us with a low-cost manufacturing base in Eastern Europe,” added Roeder.
Magnus Nilsson, Managing Director of ACCEL, said, “We are excited to join Littelfuse. The company’s strong global presence will enable us to better serve our customers and expand our business into new geographies. The good cultural fit and many synergies between the two companies will provide long-term benefits for both organizations.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Littelfuse earnings in 2012.
About ACCEL
ACCEL is a leading supplier and manufacturer of electric and electromechanical products and components for the automotive industry. Its products are marketed through four main product groups: solar sensors, hall sensors for passenger retention systems, water in fuel sensors and steering wheel switches. Founded in 1987, ACCEL began as a marketing and technical support company for Japanese and Italian component manufacturers. In 1994, its Lithuanian production plant, UAB ACCEL Elektronika, was established in co-operation with UAB Terra, a Lithuanian electronics company. The company has approximately 300 employees.
About Littelfuse
Founded in 1927, Littelfuse, Inc., the worldwide leader in circuit protection, offers the industry’s broadest and deepest portfolio of circuit protection products and solutions. Littelfuse devices protect products in virtually every market that uses electrical energy, from consumer electronics to automobiles to industrial equipment. In addition to its Chicago, Illinois, world headquarters, Littelfuse has more than 30 sales, distribution, manufacturing and engineering facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Technologies offered by Littelfuse include Fuses; Gas Discharge Tubes (GDTs); Positive Temperature Coefficient Devices (PTCs); Protection Relays; PulseGuard® ESD Suppressors; SIDACtor® Devices; TVS Diode Arrays (SPA™ Family of Products); Switching Thyristors; TVS Diodes and Varistors. The company also offers a comprehensive line of highly reliable Electromechanical and Electronic Switch and Control Devices for commercial and specialty vehicles, as well as underground Power Distribution Centers for safe control and distribution of electricity in mining operations.
For more information, please visit Littelfuse’s website at www.littelfuse.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are intended to constitute “forward-looking statements” entitled to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks relating to product demand and market acceptance, economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product quality problems or product recalls, capacity and supply difficulties or constraints, coal mining exposures reserves, failure of an indemnification for environmental liability, exchange rate fluctuations, commodity price fluctuations, the effect of the company’s accounting policies, labor disputes, restructuring costs in excess of expectations, pension plan asset returns less than assumed, integration of acquisitions and other risks which may be detailed in the company’s other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or implied in the forward-looking statements. This report should be read in conjunction with information provided in the financial statements appearing in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and in the company’s Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012. For a further discussion of the risk factors of the company, please see Item 1A. “Risk Factors” to the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.
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