Aurignac Finance advises major midcap transaction in the sector of electromechanical components for harsh environment

First SwitchTech Group, one of the two worldwide leaders of hermetically sealed relays, was advised by Aurignac Finance, Mergers Alliance partner in France, on the sale of its US subsidiary DRI to TE Connectivity a world leader in connectivity and sensors with a market capitalization of USD 35 billion.

Founded in 1954, DRI is specialized in the design and manufacturing of hermetically sealed relays and off ers a complete range of products including time delay devices and mating sockets, for applications in demanding industries. DRI has a strong and historical presence in Aerospace & Defense and serves major players in these industries on the US market like Boeing Military, Lockheed Martin or BAE Systems.

This transaction will enable First SwitchTech to focus its strategy, as an independent European leader, on the development of the French entities STPI and REL on their historical markets in Defense, Space, Railway, Aeronautics and Energy in Europe and Asia, and keep providing innovative solutions for its blue chip
client portfolio for the coming years.

“Aurignac Finance has extensively contributed to this transaction thanks to its strong knowledge in the aerospace & defense sector, a comprehensive coverage of the potential buyers and a deep operational understanding of our business and Group. Their full commitment has been once again a key element for the success of the transaction” (Michel Nespoulous, First SwitchTech Group / DRI).

For TE Connectivity, DRI will off er a strong strategic and complementary fi t in the US market with its Aerospace, Defense, and Marine (AD&M) business. “With this deal, TE strengthens its presence in the midrange power segment with an expanded product off ering that will further enhance our ability to provide industry leading engineering and product solutions to address the needs of our customers.” Peter Lieff rig (TE Connectivity- VP & General manager of AD&M’s High-Performance Group).

“This is the 3rd transaction we have advised recently in the sector of electronic components & embedded systems especially for harsh environments. Our expertise in this area combined to our perfect knowledge of the potential buyers at the global level enabled us to lead a very competitive process with numerous interests from large international listed corporates and dynamic private equity owned midcap companies. Aurignac Finance’s team is very proud to contribute so efficiently to this international midcap transaction that will impact signifi cantly the competitve landscape of the worldwide relay industry. We remain very active in this sector with several other ongoing deals to come in H1 2021”. (Raphael Brenier, Partner at Aurignac Finance)

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