On the heels of the acquisition of the €180-million Standard Profil of Turkey, the Ruia group today announced the acquisition of another automotive sealing solutions company.
According to the group Chairman, Mr P.K. Ruia, the Group has acquired complete ownership of Bokenhem, Germany, headquartered Meteor Gummiwerke K.H. Bädje GmbH & Co. KG. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
The €220-million Meteor has six facilities, including three in Germany, two in the Czech Republic and one at Ohio in the US. While Standard has 3,498 full-time employees, Meteor has 2,445 employees on its payroll. The client list of both companies includes the names of big global automakers.
“We entered binding agreements for acquiring 100 per cent ownership in both the companies in London in the first week of this month. The acquisitions are now subject to be approved by the anti-trust authorities. We are expecting to close the deals in the third-quarter of 2011,” Mr Ruia told newspersons here on Wednesday.
“With these acquisitions, our overseas turnover stands at $1.1 billion (approximately Rs 5,000 crore). The turnover of our Europe-based automotive sealing business reaches $750 million (approximately Rs 3,400 crore), close to the European business of sealing major Cooper Standard,” Mr Ruia said.
The US-based Cooper Standard is the world's largest automotive sealing company. According to him, while both the companies have reported a net profit, Standard Profile “has an extremely healthy balance-sheet”. Referring to it as his “best buy,” Mr Ruia said the deal was struck in the face of huge competition from companies from various countries.
With an EBITA of Euro8 million against a turnover of Euro220 million, Meteor is not as healthy. The company went under the administration of a Government appointed trustee a year ago following financial distress.
“Meteor manufactures the most high-value sealing products. We have lined up a capital infusion programme in the company,” Mr Ruia said, without disclosing the sum to be invested.
The acquisitions were made through two Mauritius-based SPVs: Wealth Sea Mauritius (for Standard) and Wealth Pacific Holdings (for Meteor).
Mr Ruia said the group is planning to create an automotive sealing business division soon, combining all the four companies (Schlegel Automotive in the UK, Draftex and Meteor in Germany and Standard Profil in Turkey).
Plans are also afoot to enter the automotive sealing business in India, either through acquisition or through greenfield ventures. The Indian market is currently dominated by Cooper Standard and a joint venture of Saargummi of Germany.