French automotive supplier Delfingen said it had entered into exclusive negotiations with German automotive industrial group Schlemmer to buy, among other assets, its factory in Romania, a media report said.
The sale of the factory in Romania was part of a bigger divestment package which included operations in Europe and Africa, Delfingen said in a statement cited by Serbia’s SeeNews.com.
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The report said the businesses covered by the M&A deal have a turnover of around EUR100m (US$114m), employ 1,000 people and consist of five factories located in Romania, Germany, Russia, Morocco and Tunisia. The two latter plants are joint ventures.
Schlemmer Romania’s factory in Carei, in Satu Mare county, employs 345 and was established in 2005, according to data posted on the finance ministry’s website, cited by SeeNews.com.
In 2018, it posted a net profit of 12.2m lei (US$2.9m/EUR2.5m), down 36% year on year, on a turnover of 154.7m lei, up 16%, the finance ministry data showed.
Delfingen reportedly said the acquisition would enable it to consolidate its market share in Europe, to strengthen its proximity to German car manufacturers and equipment suppliers, and to pool research and development efforts to support the transition of the automotive sector towards hybrid and electric powertrains.
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By GlobalDataThe report said the acquisition could be effective within three months while the legal documentation is finalised and conditions are fulfilled.
If completed, the M&A would be financed by debt raised from Delfingen’s current financial partners, the French company added.
SeeNews.com noted that, faced with operational and financial difficulties, Schlemmer was placed in preliminary bankruptcy proceedings on 19 December, 2019 by the Munich commercial court, a procedure confirmed on 1 March, 2020, according to the statement.
Delfingen specialises in automotive electrical cable protection and had a turnover of EUR230m in 2019.
The company already operates two factories in Romania, in Arad and Negoiesti, SeeNews.com said.
At global level, the group operates in 20 countries with 26 plants.
Schlemmer is a German industrial group specialising in cable protection and the manufacture of injection moulded parts for the automotive industry, the report added.
