The two rivals will combine to create a global electronics manufacturing services company able to service a wide variety of consumer and enterprise industries Flextronics International plans to acquire rival Solectron to create an electronics manufacturing services powerhouse with more than $30 billion in annual revenue, Flextronics announced Monday.Flextronics, located in Singapore, would acquire Solectron, based in Milpitas, California, in a stock and cash deal worth about $3.6 billion. The combined company would operate in 35 countries with a combined employee base of about 200,000 people, including about 4,000 design engineers, Flextronics said in a press release.Both companies provide manufacturing services to a variety of industries. Flextronics focuses on electronics design, engineering, and manufacturing services to OEMs serving the automotive, computing, consumer digital, and medical industries. Solectron focuses on design, supply chain management, and product warranty repair services to companies serving the networking, telecom, computing, storage, automotive, medical, and defense industries. The deal will help the two companies improve their product development processes and supply chain management, Flextronics said in a press release.Solectron’s strength in high-end computing and telecom will be an “invaluable addition” to Flextronics, Flextronics CEO Mike McNamara said in a statement. “We will be a larger, more competitive company and therefore better positioned to deliver supply chain solutions that fulfill our customers’ increasingly complex requirements,” he added.In February, Solectron CEO Michael Cannon resigned to join Dell as president of global operations. The merger is expected to close by the end of the year. The deal needs approval from shareholders from both companies as well as possible regulatory approvals, Flextronics said. Technology Industry