UTAC CERAM and Millbrook are to merge operations to create a business for vehicle testing, homologation and emerging technologies for autonomous, connected and electric vehicles.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, subject to normal regulatory clearances.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The merger would double the Group’s revenues.
The new alliance will generate synergies, creating a venture in complementary markets, combining customer portfolios, developing an extended range of services and leveraging technological resources, human expertise and broad geographical coverage.
Millbrook brings expertise in automotive electric driveline development, in particular through its battery and electric drivetrain test centres based in the UK and US. The services will complement UTAC CERAM’s background in ADAS and Euro NCAP testing and in cybersecurity, connectivity and simulation, as deployed in its Teqmo autonomous vehicle test centre.
The Group will operate several test centres throughout the world; in France at the Linas-Montlhéry and Mortefontaine facilities, in the UK in Bedford and Leyland, in the US in Detroit and California, in Finland at a vehicle test facility with indoor and outdoor winter testing tracks and in Morocco with a new test centre offering a track where vehicles are exposed to extreme heat (scheduled to open in 2021).
The Group will have the capability to offer a range of services including: the delivery of complex certification and testing programmes; the testing of vehicles and tyres in hot and cold climates; designing and delivering bespoke customer solutions and working with global brand partners to develop connected electric vehicles.
The new Group, which will be headed by current UTAC CERAM president, Laurent Benoit, will leverage its internal resources, international network and the support of its shareholders, especially majority shareholder, Eurazeo, to pursue innovation and to consolidate its markets in Europe and the world.
“The arrival of Eurazeo as a shareholder, and FCDE’s support, opened the door for our group to access additional resources to improve the pace of growth around the world,” said Benoit.
“The alliance with Millbrook represents a fantastic opportunity for our teams and a decisive step that allows us to continue supporting manufacturers and equipment suppliers along their industrial, societal and technological journey, as we have done with passion and pride since 1945.”
