Japanese, U.S. Ceramics Firms Agree to Merge

Two of the world’s largest manufacturers of industrial ceramics announced Thursday that they have agreed to what may be the first American-Japanese merger involving a stock swap worth about $531 million.

AVX Corp. said it had agreed to merge with Kyocera Corp., the Kyoto, Japan-based maker of ceramics for electronic equipment. Kyocera also manufactures ceramics and other electronic components in its San Diego-based affiliate, Kyocera International Inc.

The stock of AVX Corp. rose by nearly $107 million, or more than a third of its value, after the announcement.

Under the deal, each AVX share would be exchanged for each 0.39 American Depository Share traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the companies said.

In their joint statement, Kyocera chairman Kazuo Inamori said, “this precedent-setting agreement is believed to be the first merger by a public company in Japan with an American-based public company using shares.”

AVX stock closed at $29.625 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, up $8, on Wednesday’s closing price. It had traded as low as $28.50 a share.

An AVX spokesman said the company currently has 13,407,000 shares outstanding. An $8 rise would mean the value of the company’s stock had risen $107 million on the day’s trading.

New York-based AVX has annual sales of $408.9 million, the statement said.