German energy and utilities company Veba AG, which has plans to list its shares on the New York Stock exchange, has acquired Wyle Electronics Inc for $810m in cash. Wyle, a semiconductor, computer products and services firm, has been struggling recently, after losing key distribution contracts from Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Philips Semiconductor Corp. Although it made net profits of $40.2m on revenue of $1.2bn last year, its fourth-quarter net income dropped 10% to $10.6m and first-quarter profits plunged 29% to $7.8m on flat turnover. Wyle now hopes to gain a stronger foothold in Europe and Asia-Pacific through Veba’s Raab Karcher AG distribution unit. EBV also has a US subsidiary, EBV Electronics Inc, based in San Diego, California. Wyle, based in Irvine, California, is expected to keep its identity, headquarters and staff.