The traditional industrial group Knorr-Bremse has its eye on the lighting specialist Hella.
If the deal works, Munich would finally become a DAX candidate.
Munich
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The Munich-based brake specialist Knorr-Bremse is entering the bidding race for the automotive supplier Hella.
The company announced in a mandatory announcement on Tuesday that it was fundamentally interested in acquiring the package of 60 percent of the shares in HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA held by the founding family.
However, the talks are still in a "very early stage", it said.
It is therefore impossible to foresee whether a transaction will occur.
Should the traditional Munich industrial group actually get a chance with the lighting and electronics specialist, it would create a company with annual sales of around 13 billion euros and thus the fourth largest automotive supplier in Germany after Bosch, Continental and ZF.
Hella supplies lighting systems such as headlights, interior lighting and blue lights for police cars.
There are also electronic components such as servo controls and sensors.
Knorr-Bremse specializes in braking systems for commercial vehicles and trains as well as other components such as air conditioning systems.
Knorr-Bremse: tempting takeover target
A possible takeover of Hella by Knorr-Bremse would have a number of advantages for the Munich-based company.
With Hella, the group would open up completely new areas of business and thus position itself more broadly.
There is practically no overlap.
In addition, both companies are strongly owner-shaped.
At Knorr-Bremse, the family * of the Munich entrepreneur legend Heinz Hermann Thiele, who died in March, runs the company with a strict hand.
The two shareholder families Hueck and Röpke rule at Hella.
In addition, Knorr-Bremse would advance into a new dimension.
The brake specialist had recently come under pressure after the Friedrichshafen-based ZF Group acquired the US-Belgian brake manufacturer Wabco and attacked Knorr-Bremse head-on in its core business.
Now Munich could strike back.
After all, a takeover for Knorr-Bremse would also significantly improve the prospects for inclusion in the Dax *.
Knorr-Bremse: bidding race for Hella
In addition to Knorr-Bremse, reports indicate that the French supplier Faurecia and several financial investors are also keeping an eye on Hella.
With the intended block of shares of over 60 percent owned by the owner family, Knorr-Bremse would be obliged to make a mandatory offer for free shareholders. The company from Lippstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia is valued at around 6.5 billion euros on the stock exchange. *
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