Chinese carmaker BYD to buy US firm Jabil for $2.2b

SHANGHAI, Aug 28 (Reuters): Chinese automaker BYD said on Monday its electronics unit has struck a deal with US-based manufacturer Jabil Inc to buy its mobile electronics manufacturing business in China for 15.8 billion yuan ($2.2 billion).

The deal will expand BYD Electronic's (BE) customer base, product portfolio and its smartphone components business as it looks to capture Jabil's potential growth in the sector.

Singapore-based Jabil Circuit, which manufactures printed circuit boards, established a unit this month that absorbed its product-manufacturing businesses in Chengdu and Wuxi, which will now be sold to the Chinese group.

Shares in BYD Electronic initially fell as much as 9 per cent in Hong Kong, but reversed their losses and closed flat by the afternoon, while the broader market closed 1 per cent higher.