El Segundo Firm Say No To Buyout Offer
International Rectifier Corp., the El Segundo-based maker of power management computer chips, said Friday that it rejected a buyout offer by Vishay Intertechnology Inc.
IR, as the South Bay firm is known, said Vishay's $1.6 billion offer undervalued the company.
On Aug. 15, Malvern, Pa.-based Vishay made a bid of $21.22 for each outstanding share of IR stock.
"The board believes that the proposal by Vishay does not value the company and its future prospects appropriately," IR chairman Richard J. Dahl said in a statement.
Dahl emphasized the company's plan to enhance its competitiveness in language that seemed to indicate IR's general lack of interest in a sale.
"Vishay's proposal significantly undervalues the company and its future prospects when compared to the shareholder value realizable under our recently adopted strategic plan," Dahl said.
Over the past year, IR "added considerable strength and depth to its senior management team," Dahl said. Those management changes started after former CEO Alex Lodow's October 2007 resignation following the discovery earlier that year of accounting irregularities.
On Aug. 1, IR said it completed its restatements for the periods involved in the irregularities.
The firm now is "poised to enhance its competitive position in the marketplace," Dahl said.
IR had been involved in a previous sale to Vishay. Last year, the local firm sold its power-control systems business to Vishay.
IR employs 4,500 people worldwide with about 600 in El Segundo.