Shenzhen-based antenna manufacturer Sunway Communication (300136.SZ) recently released an announcement stating that it plans on acquiring a 100% stake in Laird (Hong Kong) Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Laird Technologies (Beijing) Co., Ltd. for RMB 198 mln. The acquisition funds are expected to come from leftover funds after Sunway's IPO.

Laird Beijing's clients include Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG. Sunway's current clients include Samsung, Huawei, RIM, Gionee, BBK, and OPPO. If the transaction is successful, Sunway will automatically become a qualified supplier of Laird Beijing's previous customers.

After being established in 2001, Laird Beijing's main business was handset antenna R&D, production and sales. Laird Beijing is currently under full control of the Laird Group.

On March 12, the Laird Group released an announcement of the transaction with Sunway and said that the transaction will be completed in the second half of 2012.

Laird Beijing's 2010 and 2011 revenues were RMB 1.07 bln and RMB 7.1 bln respectively. Net profit for 2010 and 2011 was RMB 15.12 mln and RMB -39.02 mln respectively. Due to a decrease in demand from the company's major customer, the Laird Group publicly announced its withdrawal from the handset antenna business on June 17, 2011. The announcement stated that the major customer accounted for 70% of the company's income in 2010. Although the announcement did not identify the specific customer, an international research report pointed out that Nokia is in fact Laird's largest customer.

Sunway's revenues for 2010 and 2011 were RMB 140 mln and RMB 160 mln respectively. Net profit for 2010 and 2011 was RMB 84.94 mln and RMB 53.43 mln respectively.