Oct. 7--Clayton-based Viasystems Group on Tuesday said it will buy Merix Corp., a money-losing competitor in the printed circuit board business.

Viasystems, which is privately held, will emerge from the deal as a public company. The headquarters will remain in Clayton, where it has about 50 employees. Neither company has factories in the St. Louis area.

Viasystems CEO David Sindelar said the merger would give the company two plants in the United States, including a "quick-turnaround" plant in California that can supply American customers quickly. Viasystems' plants are in China and Mexico.

The merger also brings a "good talent base" among employees at Merix's operation in Oregon, Sindelar said in an interview. Viasystems' technological talent is mainly in Asia.

Merix, based in Beaverton, Ore., lost about $41 million in the last two quarters. The company's stock closed at $2.52 Tuesday, down 24 cents, before the merger announcement. It had traded below $1 in July.

Under the terms of the deal, each share of Merix stock will be converted into 0.11 new shares of Viasystems, which will trade on the Nasdaq market. The company plans to list the shares after the deal closes, which is expected to happen by the end of the year.

About 98 percent of the holders of Merix's $70 million in convertible senior subordinated notes agreed to exchange the debt for $35 million in cash and 1.4 million Viasystems shares.

Viasystems' present owners will hold 80.5 percent of the shares when the merger is complete, with Merix shareholders owning 12.5 percent and note holders with 7 percent.

Sindelar said the Merix purchase will allow Viasystems to expand its customer base, creating the largest publicly-held circuit board producer in the U.S. with sales of about $840 million and 13,000 employees. Merix had about $287 million in sales in the last fiscal year. The companies will have about 2 percent of the $40 to $50 billion printed circuit board market.

Viasystems said it expects to save about $20 billion through "cost synergies" to be implemented within 60 days of the final sale. Those are mainly in administrative expenses, Sindelar said.

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