DaimlerChrysler said on Monday it had sold a majority stake in its Mercedes-Benz Lenkungen GmbH steering business to industrial group ThyssenKrupp AG, Reuters reported.
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“The partners have agreed that in a first step, ThyssenKrupp Automotive will acquire 60% of Mercedes-Benz Lenkungen,” Daimler said in a statement cited by the news agency, and which added: “The next step of taking over the remaining 40% will take place in two years at the earliest.”
An industry source told Reuters the stake as a whole had been valued at a high double-digit million euro sum.
Mercedes-Benz Lenkungen, based in Duesseldorf, employs about 1,600 people and has annual sales of some €300 million ($US350 million), Reuters said.
An industry source had told Reuters in June that Thyssen was close to sealing the deal to build steering systems in a joint venture with DaimlerChrysler, while a union representative said in February that the deal would affect about 350 jobs.
Reuters noted that the venture underlines the growing trend of outsourcing parts manufacturing to suppliers, which in turn need more business to offset a squeeze by manufacturers demanding lower prices.
ThyssenKrupp has said its automotive business, which produces car body parts and engine components, will be one of its growth pillars as it aims to lift group sales to €46 billion by 2006/2007 through organic growth and selective buys, Reuters added.
