Bose sells two overseas manufacturing plants

By Steven Guzzardi via Flickr Bose has sold manufacturing plants that produce products such as headphones.

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By Sam Bonacci

Framingham’s Bose Corp. has sold manufacturing plants with a combined 3,500 employees in Mexico and Malaysia for an undisclosed sum.

The plants were sold to Flextronics International Ltd. (Flex), a global manufacturer, that Bose previously had a business relationship with, according to a release sent out Thursday. Under this new agreement, Flex will take over ownership and operation of Bose's manufacturing and development operations in San Luis, Mexico and Penang, Malaysia. Current and planned Bose production will be maintained in those facilities. The agreement gives Bose greater access to Flex's supply chain solutions that will accelerate speed-to-market around the world.

"We've always used independent manufacturers to support our global business, and have used Flex in that capacity for over a year,” Bryan Fontaine, executive vice president for Bose Global Operations, said in a statement.

Flex has the ability to meet projected growth in emerging markets as well as Bose’s quality standards, he said.

Bose's San Luis and Penang plants were opened in 1990 and 2013, respectively. Their production includes select headphones, wireless speakers, home theater systems and professional products. They have approximately 3,500 employees, according to Bose, and under the terms of the agreement, Flex will retain the vast majority of them.

The ownership transfer is set to take place during 2016.