Plans to consolidate Triple S Plastics Inc. and Eimo Oyj have ended, largely as a result of slower-growth projections within the mobile-telephone market.
On March 12, the companies separately announced they had terminated the agreement.
The original pact in July called for Eimo of Lahti, Finland, to acquire Triple S for about $161 million. The terms were adjusted in favor of Portage, Mich.-based Triple S in February.
Meanwhile, the business slowdown has Triple S officials considering changes to their manufacturing operations. The company announced it is reviewing requirements for injection molding and secondary operations at its leased Texas facilities, including a 64,000-square-foot plant in Georgetown and a 60,000-square-foot plant in Fort Worth.
Mobile-phone giant Nokia Oyj of Nurmijarvi, Finland, accounted for 59 percent of Triple S sales in the fiscal year ended March 31 and 34 percent in the previous fiscal year.
A year ago, Triple S was contemplating a third Texas plant to support Nokia. But on Feb. 2, Nokia shifted strategy, disclosing that it would cut about 800 of 5,500 jobs in Texas and shift some manufacturing to South Korea and Mexico.
Both Triple S and Eimo cited deteriorating financial conditions at the other company as a reason to terminate the combination deal.
Triple S said an Eimo earnings warning in late January estimated a 29 percent drop in operating profit for calendar-year 2000 vs. 1999. Eimo cited a Triple S forecast anticipating lower sales to Nokia during the next two years.
Triple S stock trades on the Nasdaq national market, and Eimo stock trades on the Helsinki bourse.
