Auto parts producer Federal-Mogul Corporation has an agreement in place to buy Affinia Group Inc.’s chassis components business. The Affinia business serves leading U.S. aftermarket customers with branded and private label chassis product lines.
The terms of the agreement were not announced, and the transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals.
It is the latest in a series of acquisitions for Federal-Mogul, diversifying its global auto parts and aftermarket businesses. Earlier this month it agreed to buy Honeywell’s Friction Material business, adding to its brake products line; and, in December it agreed to buy DZV Bearings Co., a Russian producer of bearings, bushings, and thrust washers.
The Affinia Global Chassis manufactures a series of products sold under the Raybestos brand, including chassis ball joints, tie rods, idler arms, sway bar links, and control arm assemblies.
The business has manufacturing plants in Dillon, S.C., Gastonia, S.C., Oklahoma City, and Ramsey, N.J. It also operates plants in Argentina, Brazil (2), China, Poland, Ukraine, Uraguay, and Venezuela.
"I believe there continue to be attractive opportunities for growth in the global automotive aftermarket," stated Carl C. Icahn, chairman of Federal-Mogul. "The board of Federal-Mogul remains committed to pursuing initiatives, like the Affinia chassis transaction and the recently announced Honeywell friction acquisition, to broaden the company's product offering, provide operational synergies and better serve customers globally."
Adding the Raybestos product lines will give Federal-Mogul's chassis business wider range of wheel-end and steering products for U.S. and foreign car and pickup truck markets.
Federal-Mogul will continue to offer products through its widely recognized MOOG chassis components brand, for OEMs and aftermarket distributors and retailers.
"The integrated Federal-Mogul and Affinia chassis business will enable Federal-Mogul to offer an expanded portfolio of chassis products for a more comprehensive range of vehicles," stated Kevin Freeland, Federal-Mogul co-CEO and CEO of the company's Vehicle Components Segment. "Combining these two businesses will generate synergies in all areas of the business, including greater efficiencies in our chassis manufacturing operations and in logistics. This combination will allow us to better meet the needs of current customers and increase our ability to attract new customers."
