Motherson Sumi to buy Peguform Group

At the meeting held on 13th July 2011, the board of directors of Motherson Sumi Systems Limited has in principle approved the proposal to (jointly with Samvardhana Motherson Finance Limited) acquire 80pc of the shareholding of Peguform Group, Germany from Cross Industries AG. However, the Austrian firm would continue to hold 20pc shareholding, which includes 50pc holding in Wethje Carbon Composite which is a part of Cross Industries. The acquisition would be made through a joint venture in which Motherson Sumi Systems Limited would hold 51pc and Samvardhana Motherson Finance Limited would hold 49pc share. This SPV would acquire 80% shares of Peguform Group while 20pc shares would remain with the existing shareholder Cross Industries AG. This SPV would acquire 80pc shares of Peguform Group while 20% shares would remain with the existing shareholder Cross Industries AG. These transactions are, however, subject to the regulatory and other approvals as may be necessary in this regard. Established in 1959 as Badische Plastikwerk, Peguform is a leading full service supplier of differentiated high quality interior and exterior products for the automotive and related industries. It is an internationally operating supplier involved in development, manufacture and distribution of bumper systems, plastic components for vehicle exteriors, vehicle cockpits, dashboards and vehicle interior trims. It has a strong presence in Europe, supplying to major premium German brands. The company is the 2nd largest supplier of door panels and the 3rd largest supplier of instrument panels in Germany. The company is one of the market leaders of bumpers in Germany and holds a market leader position in cockpit assemblies in Spain. It has one of the largest state-of-the-art painting facilities in Europe. The company has over 200 injection moulding machines and employs over 7,000 employees. Strength of the company lies in creating new applications of plastics and engineering. The company has a strong history of innovations and Firsts in the European automotive plastics industry. The product range of Peguform has strong synergies with the existing product range of SMG in plastic injection molding, door panels, instrument panels and bumpers. This acquisition would provide new technologies and depth to the polymer product range of the Group. Commenting on the occasion V.C. Sehgal, Chairman Samvardhana Motherson Group and Vice-Chairman Motherson Sumi Systems Limited said – “Apart from the synergies that SMG would bring to the acquired entity, the product range of Peguform complements our polymer product range in India. There are obvious synergies in terms of customers served which will further strengthen the position of the Group as a global module supplier to automotive OEMs.” The major customers include Volkswagen Group, BMW, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault-Nissan, Daimler and GM. Peguform’s 2010 sales were 1.37 billion euro and a reported EBIDTA of Euro 66.87 million.