Detection Systems Inc. announces that it has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with Robert Bosch GmbH, a large multinational diversified company. The agreement provides that a subsidiary of Bosch will commence a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of the company for $18 per share in cash. Following completion of the tender offer, the Bosch subsidiary will merge with Detection Systems and the remaining shares will be converted into the right to receive $18. As a result of the tender offer and merger, the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bosch.
“This agreement is the result of the board of directors’ commitment to explore the company’s strategic alternatives to enhance value for all shareholders, and justifies our earlier determination to not pursue a hasty sale of the company at lower values,” says Karl H. Kostusiak, chairman and CEO of Detection Systems. “We are pleased that we have made available to our shareholders such an attractive transaction, and believe all our shareholders have been well served.”
Uwe Glock, president, Security Systems, of Bosch Telecom GmbH, adds, “We look forward to working together with Detection Systems’ customers and employees toward a prosperous future. It is our intention to keep intact the operations of Detection Systems and to utilize its Rochester operation and its employees as the basis of our security business in the United States.”
The transaction is contingent upon customary regulatory review and is expected to close in January 2001.
