Montreal billionaire Robert Miller, who faces a class-action lawsuit alleging he paid underage girls for sex, is selling his company Future Electronics Inc. for more than $5 billion to a Taiwanese semiconductor distributor.
WT Microelectronics Co. says it has signed an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the company's shares for US$3.8 billion — more than $5 billion Canadian — in an all-cash deal expected to close in the first half of 2024.
Future Electronics, which Quebec's business registry lists as wholly owned by Miller, is a global distributor of electronics components that employs 5,200 workers across 47 countries.
Co-founded by Miller in 1968, the Montreal-based corporation says it generated US$2.9 billion in revenue and US$184 million in profits in the first half of 2023.
A class-action lawsuit against Miller and Future Electronics saw around 30 women come forward this year alleging he gave them money and gifts in exchange for sex when they were underage.
Miller has denied all accusations, which have not been proven in court. In February he stepped down as chairman and CEO of Future Electronics amid the allegations.
The encounters allegedly took place at downtown Montreal hotels and two residences in the wealthy Westmount neighbourhood between 1992 and 2012.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in February by the Consumer Law Group, has yet to be authorized by a judge.
This report by The Canadian Press was fist published Sept. 14, 2023.
The Canadian Press
