The Mexican appliance company Mabe has made a bid for Costa Rica's homegrown appliance giant Atlas Eléctrica. The bid seeks to purchase all of Atlas Eléctrica's common and preferred shares for a total of $72 million.
Mabe operates 15 manufacturing plants and has a presence throughout the continent. The company exports to the United States through a partnership with GE, which is a partial shareholder.
Atlas Eléctrica is a Costa Rican company founded here in 1961. It manufactures and sells kitchen appliances in all of Central America and the Dominican Republic under its Atlas and Centron brands. Its goods are manufactured at a plant in Costa Rica and altogether the company employs 1,300 people.
Atlas CEO Diego Artiñano said the company's high market share in Central America -- 50% in Costa Rica and as much as 60% in other countries -- makes the company an attractive acquisition.
Artiñano called it “nothing more than a coincidence” that the announcement came the week after Costa Rica approved a free-trade
agreement with the United States, adding that the deal has been in the works for months.
The bid must be approved by investors holding at least 98% of the company's stock. Though Atlas Eléctrica did not solicit competing bids, the company will consider unsolicited competing bids, according to a statement.
Shareholders will vote on the proposed buyout in a meeting Oct. 30 |
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