The Financial Times website FT.com has reported that Visteon, the world’s second-largest automotive parts supplier, said it was likely to start seeking acquisitions next year after conceding that it could not generate sufficient organic growth to expand its business away from reliance on Ford Motor Company, its biggest customer.
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FT.com reported that Visteon said that while it was currently studying a handful of small acquisition targets, mostly in Germany, these would not be sufficient to “grow business away” from Ford fast enough.
Chief financial officer Dan Coulson reportedly said Visteon had its “hands full” with an ongoing restructuring and dealing with expected weakness in the industry for the rest of the year.
But he told the Financial Times: “Once we get a clearer picture on next year and beyond we’d like to be able to consider a more significant acquisition.”
FT.com noted that most large US parts makers that for decades thrived by supplying a wide range of components to Detroit’s “big three” are increasingly realising that to survive as Asian and European car makers steal market share from Detroit, they must specialise and seek more business from those foreign brand car makers.
At the same time, they have come under severe pressure from GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler to cut costs, the report noted.
FT.com said that Visteon, spun off from Ford two years ago, has gradually been winning business from non-Ford customers while rival Delphi has been doing the same with General Motors.
