HANOVER, Germany, and
FAIRLAWN, Ohio, Jan. 30, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- Continental has concluded its acquisition of
the U.S. rubber company Veyance Technologies Inc, of Fairlawn, Ohio, on January 30. On January
29, the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE (Council for
Economic Defence) cleared the transaction with certain conditions,
thus providing the approvals necessary for completion. The
international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial
partner Continental is boosting
its worldwide industrial business with this acquisition, which is
the most significant acquisition in recent corporate history. The
transaction is valued at 1.4 billion
euros.
Veyance operates globally in the field of rubber and plastics
technology and in 2013 recorded sales of some 1.5 billion euros, around 90 percent of which
were achieved in industry business. The workforce at its 27 plants
around the world totaled 8,500 at the end of 2013. Veyance
Technologies generates around half of its sales in the U.S.A. Other important markets include
Latin America, Africa, China
and other countries in Asia. The
product focus is on conveyor belts, hoses and power transmission
belts. In 2013, ContiTech and Veyance together achieved sales
totaling some 5.4 billion euros and
employed around 38,000 staff worldwide.
"By integrating Veyance in our ContiTech division, we are
expanding our global position in rubber and plastics technologies.
In addition, this acquisition will bring Continental a significant step closer to its
strategic goal of further increasing the proportion of industrial
and end-customer business in its sales," says Dr. Elmar Degenhart, chairman of Continental's Executive Board in Hanover. "Continental has financed the acquisition
entirely from liquid funds and available lines of credit. Veyance
will make an immediate positive contribution to the corporation's
profitability."
"Both the workforce and the customers stand to profit from the
merger of the two companies," says Heinz-Gerhard Wente, a member of Continental's Executive Board and CEO of the
ContiTech division. "Veyance will complement ContiTech in markets
in which we have been underrepresented up till now. Another very
important point is that the acquisition will enable us to
significantly expand our industrial and end-customer business and,
as a result, enable ContiTech to achieve a share of almost 60
percent of its sales outside the automotive original equipment
sector." ContiTech's Conveyor Belt Group (conveyor belt systems),
Fluid Technology (hoses and hose assemblies) and Power Transmission
Group (power transmission belt systems) business units will benefit
in particular from the improved global alignment.
Because of the significance of the acquisition, antitrust
authorities worldwide had spent the last eleven months scrutinizing
the purchase and its impact on the respective markets. In response
to the structural concerns expressed by some of the antitrust
authorities, Continental will
divest Veyance's air springs business in NAFTA and its current
steel-cord belting business in Brazil. In total, around 600 employees work in
the operations that are to be divested.
Continental develops
intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods.
As a reliable partner, the international automotive supplier, tire
manufacturer, and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe,
comfortable, individual, and affordable solutions. In 2014, the
corporation generated preliminary sales of approximately €34.5
billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior,
Powertrain, Tire und ContiTech. Continental employs approximately 190,000
people in 49 countries.
The ContiTech division numbers among the leading suppliers of a
host of technical rubber products and is a specialist for plastics
technology. The division develops and produces functional parts,
components and systems for the automotive industry and other
important industries. ContiTech currently has a workforce of
approximately 31,400 employees. In 2013 it recorded sales of about
€3.9 billion.
Contact for
journalists
|
|
|
|
Antje Lewe
|
Vincent
Charles
|
Spokeswoman
|
Spokesman, Business
and Finance
|
Head of Media and
Public Relations
|
Corporate
Communications
|
ContiTech
AG
|
Continental
AG
|
Vahrenwalder Strasse
9
|
Vahrenwalder Strasse
9
|
30165
Hannover
|
30165
Hannover
|
Tel.: +49 511
938-1304
|
Tel.: +49 511
938-1622
|
Mobile: +49 160
4767260
|
Mobile: +49 173
3145096
|
E-mail:
antje.lewe@contitech.de
|
E-mail:
vincent.charles@conti.de
|
www.contitech.de
|
www.continental-presse.de
|
The press release is available in the following languages:
Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese,
Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese
(Portugal), Romanian, Russian,
Slovak, Spanish
Links
Press releases and photos are available for download at
www.contitech.de/press
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/continental-concludes-veyance-acquisition-following-approval-by-brazilian-antitrust-authority-300028500.html
SOURCE Continental AG