Premier Farnell to sell Akron Brass business

Technology distributor Premier Farnell has agreed to sell its life-safety products unit Akron Brass to IDEX Corporation for $224.2m (£154m) in cash.

Premier said the deal will enable it to focus on executing the initiatives identified as part of its operational review to restore growth in profitability in full year 2017 and provide increased financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities within the core electronics distribution business.

Net proceeds from the disposal, which is expected to complete by the end of next month, will be used to reduce the company’s indebtedness and to redeem its preference shares.

Chief executive Mark Whiteling said: “Following the completion of the operational review and the conclusions announced in December 2015, the sale of Akron Brass marks the next important milestone in the strategic refocusing of Premier Farnell.

“The review confirmed that there are significant opportunities to improve the operational and financial performance of Premier Farnell. The sale of Akron Brass will enable us to focus on executing the initiatives identified as part of our review in order to restore growth in profitability in FY17.”

At 1227 GMT, Premier Farnell shares were up 7% to 105.64p.