The Mahindra group has taken over the UK’s Stokes Group, expanding its forging capacity.
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The Indian manufacturer of utility vehicles, farm tractors and automotive components has taken a 98.6% stake in Stokes. Financial details were not revealed, but just-auto understands it was an all-cash deal.
The takeover will increase Mahindra’s forging capacity by 36,000 tonnes.
Stokes is the largest automotive forgings company in the UK with customers such as Koyo Bearings, Land Rover, ZF, Bosch, Visteon, Ford and Jaguar. The company had a turnover of GBP25m in 2004.
Mahindra Systems and Automotive Technologies (MSAT), the component arm of the group, already has a forging unit based in Chakan in western India, which came through the acquisition of Amforge by MSAT. The Amforge facility has a capacity of 35,000 tonnes.
Mahindra is likely to shift Stokes’ existing product line to Amforge in India, freeing up capacity in the UK. The Stokes facility has a technology edge over the Indian plant and Mahindra would like to use it for high-end work. Mahindra has ruled out any major restructuring for Stokes – or any lay offs in the UK.
In December 2005, Mahindra also acquired Plexion, a specialist in computer-aided engineering (CAE).
Deepesh Rathore/Tilak Swarup
