Pulse Electronics rejects Bel Fuse bid, consolidating headquarters in San Diego; Company (as Technitrol) played important role in early Philadelphia computer history

Trevose-base Pulse Electronics announced today that its board had rejected Bel Fuse's $6 per share ($246 million) takeover bid.

Another item mentioned in its most recent earnings report and reiterated in today's statement was that Pulse had announced the "consolidation of our corporate headquarters near Philadelphia into our U.S. operating headquarters in San Diego".

Not sure when this is going to happen, but it sounds as if the Philly area is losing another corporate headquarters. Which is probably not that big a deal at this point, since it seems likely that Pulse (formerly Technitrol), in its shrunken state, is going to be acquired by somebody sooner or later.

However, Technitrol played an important role in the development of the computer industry in Philadelphia. The company was founded in 1947 by four Penn Engineering graduates who had participated in the development of the ENIAC. Technitrol held the first patent for a magnetic drive (see company history) .

Pulse made an unsuccessful bid to acquire Bel Fuse in 2007, but it was the larger player then in terms of market value.



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