Ruia Group acquires German Automotive Supplier

India’s Ruia Group, parent company of Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres, has acquired a 60 per cent controlling stake in Germany’s Henniges Automotive Grefrath GmbH, a supplier of automotive sealing systems to numerous vehicle manufacturers, including Daimler, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen. The cost of the acquisition, made through a Special Purpose Vehicle on behalf of Ruia, has not been disclosed. A further 15 per cent share in the acquired company now rests in the hands of Henniges director Juregen Hein, while administrator Wolf Von Der Fecht owning the remaining 25 per cent stake. Ruia Group chairman Pawan K Ruia told Dow Jones Newswires that the group has a call option to buy back the shares held by Fecht and Hein.

“We aspire to be a global major in the business of manufacturing automotive sealing systems and an important player in the auto-ancillary business,” commented Pawan Ruia. “We continuously look forward to worthwhile acquisition opportunities. With the latest acquisition, the Ruia Group has Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Audi, Nissan, Honda and other auto-majors as its client and that makes me very happy indeed. I am sure the rubber–processing business of the group will find the state-of-the-art-technology of Henniges quite useful and Ruia Group’s unique management skill in turning around the fortunes of the acquired companies will be much helpful for Henniges.”

Henniges, which has approximately 400 employees and posted a turnover of 83.5 million euros in 2008, has been renamed ‘Draftex’. News regarding this acquisition have been circulating since August 2009, when India’s Hindu newspaper reported the Ruia Group being in “an advanced stage of talks” regarding the purchase of a European sealing systems company.