Indian auto parts maker Samvardhana Motherson Gropup is buying the assets of insolvent German plastics car parts producer Scherer & Trier (S&T).
The 36 million euro ($44.2 million) acquisition includes the takeover of S&T manufacturing plants in Michelau, Germany, and Puebla in Mexico, will further consolidate “the polymer business of Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. (MSSL) in Europe and North America,” it said.
Michelau-based Scherer & Trier injection molds, extrudes and finishes vehicle parts and profiles and specializes in co-extrusion and multi-component injection molding. It supplies interior and exterior components and also integrates metals with plastics to form hybrid parts.
The firm was forced to file for bankruptcy in March, although still attracting orders, even after a financing deal failed. In administration, S&T continued manufacturing and a new chief executive, Rolf Graf was appointed. The insolvency administrator Joachim Exner has boosted productivity and efficiency after introducing systematic restructuring measures.
Meanwhile, the administrator continued to negotiate with potential investors and finally concluded the sale of the company's assets. The business has seen its financial situation improve in recent weeks, attracting new direct orders worth about 110 million euros ($135 million) and almost 200 million euros ($245 million) in ongoing development contracts.
S&T, which recorded annual sales of 240 million euros ($294.6 million) in 2013, manufactures products for global automotive customers including Audi, Daimler, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen and General Motors.
“S&T is a company with strong technological know-how and a well established product line ... the significant synergies between Scherer & Trier's products and SMRP BV. will now allow Motherson to offer a more diversified range of polymer products to its customers,” said the Indian group chairman V.C. Sehgal in a written statement.
SMRP BV, based in the Netherlands, is the MSSL European offshoot making the acquisition for the group.
The deal, which is still subject to official antitrust regulatory approvals, is due for completion in January 2015.
In another sign of expansion, the Indian group's offshoot Samvardhana Motherson Peguform (SMP) is hiring workers for a second components factory in Germany.
The new greenfield facility, located on a 39,000-square-meter production site at Schierling near Regensburg, was due to open in November. It will turn out painted vehicle bumpers and other components for German car manufacturers. The plant is due to create 500 new jobs by 2017.
