Mahindra & Mahindra to buy German Forging
Company
'Mahindra & Mahindra' plans to add another German forging
company, Schoeneweiss & Co, to its already loaded shopping cart as
part of attempts to grow its auto component footprint across the
globe.
Though company officials refused to comment on the matter, sources
close to the developement said M&M is in advanced talks to buy the
firm and a deal is expected soon. Sources further stated that the
deal would be pegged at close to $150-200 million.
"We would not discuss our M&A strategies... All I can say is that we
continue to look at opportunities across the globe, but our focus
now would be low-cost countries," said Mahindra Systems and
Automotive Technologies president Hemant Luthra the man driving
M&M's merger and acquisition strategy.
"But if some deal comes across at an absurd price, why not?" Luthra
added. Schoeneweiss is a major supplier to leading commercial
vehicle manufacturers like DaimlerChrysler, MAN, Scania and Volvo.
In addition, its client base include global car-making biggies like
Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Volvo, Bentley, Skoda and Volkswagen.
The acquisition, sources said, will add to M&M's customer base
besides giving it access to newer markets and technology.
This comes close to the heels of 'Mahindra & Mahindra' buying a 67.9% stake in another
German forging company Jeco Holding at an enterprise value of around
Rs 830 crore. This was the latest in a series of forging company
acquisitions by M&M.
In addition, the firm is also said to be looking at some
acquisitions in the domestic market as part of plans to grow its
auto component business to a $1-billion unit by the year 2010.
source: timesofindia.com
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