Koch to buy Molex for $7.2bn

Koch Industries has agreed to buy Molex, an electronics component firm based in Illinois, for $7.2 billion, the firms said Monday. The purchase price, $38.50 per share, is a 31 percent premium over Friday's closing price, The New York Times reported. After Georgia-Pacific, a $21 billion deal, Molex is the largest takeover by privately-owned Koch Industries, the Times said. Molex's leadership team, including the Krehbiel family that founded the company -- together representing 32 percent of the company's common stock and 94 percent of its class B stock -- has agreed to vote for the proposed deal, the Times said. "After 75 years, this was a difficult decision, but our board of directors and our family believe that this transaction, which follows a diligent and thorough review process by the board, provides outstanding benefits for all our stakeholders," Fred Krehbiel, Molex's chairman, said in a statement. Molex, based in Lisle, Ill., has about 36,000 employees. After the closing, it will be run as an independent subsidiary of Koch Industries. The Koch brothers who control the company are known for their contributions to conservative political groups.