Hella plant in Lippstadt:
The company is worth more than 6.4 billion euros on the stock exchange
Photo: Hella / dpa
The truck and train brake manufacturer Knorr-Bremse has decided against a majority takeover of the automotive supplier Hella.
After a careful analysis, the possibilities of transferring key technologies and products to the company's own range would be assessed as insufficient to realize the expected synergies, Knorr-Bremse announced on Wednesday evening in Munich.
It was only at the end of June that the management confirmed a "fundamental interest in the possible acquisition of around 60 percent of the shares in Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA from members of the founding family".
Investors, however, got offended: the Knorr-Bremse shares have since lost around a fifth of their value.
It went up on Thursday.
The shares of the Munich-based brake company climbed 9.6 percent, while Hella plunged 2.2 percent.
Investors reacted with relief, as analysts had expressed skepticism about a possible Hella deal.
The possible purchase raises some questions in terms of usefulness and financing, had complained about analyst Gael de-Bray from Deutsche Bank.
"Opportunities not sufficiently confirmed"
The management of Knorr-Bremse also came to the same conclusion. An acquisition would not create sufficient additional value for the shareholders, said CEO
Jan Mrosik
(56) according to the announcement. Basically, the company is open to acquisitions, "however, the opportunities for a possible transfer of competencies, especially in the commercial vehicle sector, have not been sufficiently confirmed for us," explained the manager with a view to Hella.
Knorr-Bremse was primarily focused on Hella's business with sensors. They are a prerequisite for autonomous driving, which the Munich-based company also see as a future opportunity for trucks. Knorr is currently purchasing the technology for this from Continental. According to its own information, Hella achieved sales of 5.8 billion euros in the past fiscal year, while Knorr-Bremse achieved 6.16 billion euros.
The takeover fantasy at Hella is basically retained.
In May we reported on the Hueck family's hasty plans to sell.
The 71-year-old
Jürgen Behrend
, who had led the automotive supplier for a long time and has been on the shareholders' committee for several years, pushed the pace.
They wanted to decide before the summer, it was said in the corporate environment.
There were some interested parties for the share package, such as the financial investors Advent and Bain Capital, as well as CVC and Blackstone.
Auto parts suppliers Hasco and Faurecia were also considering bids.
cs / dpa-afx, Reuters
