Molex to acquire AirBorn

Molex, headquartered in Lisle, Illinois and a global connectivity and electronics solutions provider, has reached an agreement to purchase AirBorn Inc., an employee-owned company headquartered in Georgetown, Texas, specializing in the design and manufacturing of rugged connectors and electronic components for global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) serving the aerospace and defense, commercial air, space exploration, medical, and industrial markets.

Customers and partners will benefit from the companies’ combined talent, expertise, core products, global scale, and integrated capabilities. The portfolio expansion and engineering innovation in specialized, rugged connector and electronic components represent major growth opportunities in the $5 billion aerospace and defense interconnect market.

“The acquisition of AirBorn brings strong capabilities to Molex in the aerospace and defense market,” said Joe Nelligan, Molex CEO. “Combining Molex’s engineering breadth and manufacturing scale with AirBorn’s expertise in ruggedized, mission-critical products will enable us to better serve the evolving needs of our customers in this fast-growing global market.”

For more than 60 years, AirBorn products have been trusted to perform in extreme conditions where mission-critical reliability is vital to success. “AirBorn will serve as the platform for Molex’s aerospace and defense business, which is a powerful opportunity for our highly specialized team,” said Michael Cole, AirBorn president and CEO. “By uniting AirBorn’s unique expertise in the aerospace and defense market with Molex’s global scale, capabilities, and financial stability, we will ensure long-term success in a rapidly expanding category.”

The acquisition is expected to close by early December 2024, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Details of the purchase price were not disclosed.

Jones Day is acting as Molex’s legal advisor and Evercore is serving as Molex’s exclusive financial advisor.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Locke Lord served as legal counsel to AirBorn on the transaction.