Continental Concludes Veyance Acquisition
Continental has concluded its acquisition of the U.S. rubber company Veyance Technologies Inc, of Fairlawn, Ohio, on January 30. On January 29, the Brazilian antitrust authority CADE (Council for Economic Defence) cleared the transaction with certain conditions, thus providing the approvals necessary for completion. International automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partner Continental is boosting its worldwide industrial business with this acquisition, which is the most significant acquisition in recent corporate history. The transaction is valued at 1.4 billion €.
Veyance operates globally in the field of rubber and plastics technology and in 2013 recorded sales of some 1.5 billion €, around 90 % of which were achieved in industry business. The product focus is on conveyor belts, hoses and power transmission belts. In 2013, ContiTech and Veyance together achieved sales totaling some 5.4 billion € and employed around 38 000 staff worldwide. ContiTech’s Conveyor Belt Group (conveyor belt systems), Fluid Technology (hoses and hose assemblies) and Power Transmission Group (power transmission belt systems) business units will benefit in particular from the improved global alignment. Because of the significance of the acquisition, antitrust authorities worldwide had spent the last eleven months scrutinizing the purchase and its impact on the respective markets. In response to the structural concerns expressed by some of the antitrust authorities, Continental will divest Veyance’s air springs business in NAFTA and its current steel-cord belting business in Brazil. In total, around 600 employees work in the operations that are to be divested.
www.contitech.de
