P. M. BRIEFING : Taiwan Group to Acquire Wyse

An investment group of government and local enterprises has agreed to acquire the California-based computer products company Wyse Technology Inc. in a cash deal valued at $268 million, both groups announced today.

The buyout would be the largest ever of a foreign firm by Taiwan.

Under the agreement, the Taiwan group, known as the Channel International Corp., would buy all Wyse’s shares for $10 each, said Koo Cheng Fu, chairman of China Investment and Trust Co., the largest investor in the buyout.

Wyse, based in San Jose, holds about a 50% market share for general-purpose terminals in the United States. It also produces monitors and IBM-compatible personal computers.

Wyse officials began a search for buyers earlier this year after the 8-year-old company suffered a loss of $21 million in the 1989 fiscal year ended March 31, compared with a $28-million profit the previous year.