Austrian door panel and headliner maker Polytec Holding AG announced Aug. 29 that it plans to buy German rival Peguform GmbH from U.S. private equity fund Cerberus Capital Management LP.
Terms of the deal were not revealed.
``The acquisition of Peguform is an important step to a global positioning of Polytec group,'' said Polytec Chief Executive Officer Friedrich Huemer in an Aug. 29 telephone interview.
Huemer said the deal has been approved by Volkswagen AG. About 50 percent of Polytec's sales in the future will come from business with the Volkswagen group, a current customer of both Peguform and Polytec.
If the deal is approved by antitrust authorities, Polytec will gain access to South America and China via Peguforms's production site in Brazil and its joint venture in China. Peguform has a 50-50 joint venture with privately owned Chinese interior maker Changshu Automotive Trim Co.
Polytec estimates that after the Peguform acquisition, the company will have annual sales of about 2.2 billion euros ($3.2 billion). The merged company's top customers will be Seat, BMW and Volkswagen.
Polytec, which is based in Hörsching, Austria, produces door panels, headliners and engine parts for customers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.
Peguform, based in Bötzingen, Germany, makes bumpers, front-end modules, cockpits and door panels.
According to Huemer, officials have not decided whether one of the companies will have to change its name or — if they decide to have a common name — which one will be chosen.
Cerberus, which took over Peguform in 2005, also has majority control of Chrysler LLC.