Bourns Inc launches $356m takeover bid for Rakon: Shareholders offered $1.55 per share
Monday, 9 February 2026
The offer to buy NZX-listed high-tech firm Rakon has officially opened, with California-based Bourns Incs offer of $1.55 per share, surpassing the $1.41 per share the stock is trading at this afternoon.
The offer, first announced in early January, values the company at $356 million.
The deal looks more probable than not, especially given Rakon’s three largest shareholders ‒ the founding Robinson family’s interests, Singapore’s Siward Crystal Technology, and major shareholder Mike Daniels’ Wairahi vehicles, representing just over 41% of the company ‒ have agreed to ultimately accept a sale of their holdings to Bourns.
They have “locked up” the shares as a sign of commitment to the deal, meaning they will not sell or trade them until the offer has either received enough buyers or not.
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The Californians must get to 90% of shareholders accepting the offer to be able to compulsorily acquire the company, and will still need regulatory approval for the purchase.
Bourns’ argument is that the shareprice it is offering for Rakon is fair, as the company has under-performed the NZX50 index over a long period of time, and over the last 15 years has largely traded below $1 per share, barring a few specific, short periods.
Otherwise, Rakon has experienced earning volatility and missed forecasts, and lacks the access to capital required to pursue further growth, Bourns says. It points out that since listing on the NZX in 2006, Rakon has only paid one dividend of 1.5c in July 2023, with no additional dividends indicated in the near term.
“We believe the offer represents a compelling opportunity … to unlock significant value and deliver a positive outcome for all Rakon shareholders. It enables [shareholders] to sell [their] shares and / or share rights at a substantial premium to recent share prices and we encourage [them] to accept the offer,” it says.
But the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association believes an independent valuation by Calibre Partners, which is yet to happen, will have to factor into how shareholders consider the offer. It also has questions around what the company’s two independent directors, Chris Swasbrook and Greg Barclay, would do or say about it.
Fellow director and Rakon’s chairperson Brent Robinson, the son of the company’s founder, had acted as a shareholder in becoming one of the parties who has signed the lock-up agreement for his shareholding with Bourns.
“A potential consequence of the lock-up agreements is to reduce the opportunity for any competing bidder to emerge,” the NZSA says.
Plans
Bourns was founded in 1947 by husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Marlan and Rosemary Bourns, and is headquartered in Riverside, California. It has 20 manufacturing facilities worldwide, with a presence in North America, Europe, Africa, Japan, Taiwan, and China, manufacturing and supplying electronic components to a multitude of markets. Its major business streams include making discrete semiconductors, resistors, and overvoltage protection; power distribution and management components like transformers, filters, and chokes; and sensing components and assemblies for measuring position, rotation, torque, speed, temperature, pressure, and humidity.
Bourns says in its takeover it intends to operate Rakon as a standalone division, retaining the New Zealand company’s global activities, employees and R&D capabilities at all locations, while leveraging its own global scale, sales and distribution, and “access to capital from a strong balance sheet”.
Al Yost, president and chief operating officer of Bourns, says the offer is “compelling and certain”.
“Rakon has a strong history of innovation in timing and frequency technologies and operates in a dynamic industry. However, we recognise the challenges the company faces, including market volatility, liquidity constraints, and the need for ongoing investment. These factors have inhibited Rakon’s ability to deliver sustained value as a listed company.”
Bourns is being advised by Cameron Partners and Rothschild & Co, as joint investment banking advisors, and Simpson Grierson for legal matters.
The offer closes at 11.59pm on March 23, unless an extension is granted.