Plastic Omnium has secured approval from European competition authorities to acquire international chemical and pharmaceutical group Solvay’s 50% stake in Inergy Automotive Systems.
The green light now means Plastic Omnium has full control of the world’s leading supplier of fuel tanks and systems that is expected to generate revenues of around EUR1.1bn (US$1.4bn) this year and synergies of EUR10m.
Acquisition of Automotive Systems for EUR270m combined with organic growth of 20% in 2010, means Plastic Omnium estimates it will achieve revenue near to EUR3.5bn compared to EUR2.5bn last year.
“The EU approved our acquisition in total,” a Plastic Omnium spokesman in Paris told just-auto. “There were no doubts – we control 100%.
“There are around EUR10m synergies per year [but] there will be no redundancies.”
Plastic Omnium specialises in exterior components and systems as well as fuel systems.
The company says it is making strong gains in Russia, China, India, Thailand, South Korea and South Africa.