NANJING, CHINA -- Electronics manufacturer Nanjing Panda Electronics reported third-quarter report sales of 207 million yuan ($26.28 million), up 35.7% from last year.

Earnings rose 84.7% to 36.96 million yuan ($4.7 million) year-over-year.

Year to date, earnings are up 5.6% to 68.1 million yuan ($8.7 million) on revenue of 562 million yuan ($71.3 million), up 14%.

CHICAGO -- Cobra Electronics Corp. , a manufacturer of mobile communications products, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Performance Products Ltd., a privately held consumer electronics company based in the U.K. Cobra will pay $21.4 million plus two earnout payments of up to approximately $6.5 million and $9.3 million, respectively, contingent upon Performance Products' operating performance for the year ending March 31, 2007 and the fourteen months ending May 31, 2008.

The acquisition will expand Cobra's product line into the rapidly growing categories of GPS-enabled speed camera detection systems and personal navigation devices.

In a statement, Jim Bazet, Cobra president and chief executive, said, "We are witnessing explosive growth in the use of speed cameras for safety and traffic control throughout Europe and the United States. GPS technology for speed camera detection is legal and, given current trends, we anticipate widespread adoption.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Performance Products had revenues of $14.8 million and operating income of $1.8 million after adjustment for certain shareholder compensation that will not be paid in the future.

IRVINE, CA -- Electronics manufacturer Newport Corp. will acquire the laser products unit of Picarro Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in early November.

Newport makes instruments and lasers for the fiber-optic, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

Picarro makes photonics products including lasers for bio-instruments and gas analyzers for environmental monitoring. The unit is expected to have 2007 sales in the range of $5 million to $7 million.

GUADALAJARA -- Electronics manufacturing services is alive and well in Mexico.

According to a recent magazine report, the number of contract manufacturing facilities in main cities in Mexico has doubled to 26 since 2000. Meanwhile, the amount of manufacturing space in square feet has grown 117% to 7.4 million, reported Purchasing Magazine this month.

Guadalajara is growing fastest, the report said. The number of EMS plants has doubled to 12 during that span, the magazine reported, quoting data from Technology Forecasters.

It's not clear whether the data include the Flextronics plant under construction in Juarez.