Auto supplier ABC Technologies Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy Mühlacker, Germany-based injection molder Karl Etzel GmbH for about $95 million.
"The acquisition of Etzel will provide ABC the opportunity to meaningfully expand our scale in Europe while entering the interior products space on the continent with a strong customer base of luxury OEMs," Todd Sheppelman, president and CEO of ABC Technologies, said in a Jan. 21 news release.
Etzel is a Tier-1 and -2 supplier that manufactures interior and exterior parts for the German luxury auto market. It generated about $100 million in sales in 2021, the release said.
"Etzel's management team has built a solid European foundation from which to grow with its existing customers, especially in North America, as well as giving ABC a base upon which to cross-sell its existing product suite," Sheppelman said.
"ABC's leadership position in the injection molding and lightweighting market will enable Etzel to expand in North America, where our German OEM customers have significant manufacturing presence, but where we have thus far not been able to serve them," Etzel President and CEO, Andreas Schürrle said in the release.
The acquisition is subject to approval by the German Federal Antitrust Office and the Austrian Federal Competition Authority. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.
ABC makes products for automotive HVAC systems, interiors, exteriors, fluid management and air induction systems, among others. It has 6,150 employees globally.
ABC is No. 14 in PN's ranking of North American injection molders with $500 million in sales in the region and No. 15 in PN's blow molders ranking with $396 million in sales.