Empire Resources Inc., a distributor of value added, semi-finished metal products, announced it has agreed to a $58 million acquisition by Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co. Ltd. – the parent company of fastener master distributor Brighton-Best International.

Ta Chen is a master distributor of stainless, aluminum and nickel alloy products. 

The acquisition is subject to customary conditions.

The $7 per share price is approximately 19.2% over Empire’s average closing price during the three-months ending March 30, 2017.

Empire CEO Nathan Kahn described the Ta Chen acquisition as “the culmination of our effort to unlock the substantial value of Empire for our shareholders while creating a combined company with highly complementary strengths and greater resources for the benefit of our customers and employees.”

Kahn said the companies will benefit from “Empire’s recognized service levels and Ta Chen’s excellent internet platform, just-in-time delivery capabilities and its extensive warehouse network in the U.S.” 

Empire will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ta Chen, with Empire’s current team unchanged and reporting structure for the coming year.

Kahn and CFO Sandra Kahn together own approximately 46.3% Empire shares. Ta Chen already owned 5% of Empire stock. 

Empire Resources distributes semi-finished metal products to customers in the transportation, automotive, housing, appliance and packaging industries in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.  NASDAQ: ERS  Web: empireresources.com

Ta Chen was founded in 1989 in Los Angeles by Robert Shieh to distribute stainless steel.  In 2001, Ta Chen launched an Internet order platform and today 75% of TCI’s daily transactions are online.  Web: TaChen.com