Auto parts group Linamar Corp. confirmed it has made conditional offers to buy thee aluminum foundries in France and Spain from Groupe Arche for approximately $8.8 million. The three plants are F.V.M. Technologies, at Villers-la-Montagne, France; Societe Aveyronnaise de Metallurgie (SAM), at Viviez, France; and Alfisa Technologies, in Barcelona, Spain. All are subsidiaries of Groupe Arche, and all are involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
Linamar noted that its offers for the Group Arche plants, are mutually contingent, meaning that it seeks to acquire all of the plants or none of them. It also indicated that other customary conditions apply to the deal, including anti-trust approval.
Linamar emphasized that all three plants are involved in design, casting, and machining of high-pressure diecast (HPDC) aluminum automotive components, primarily in the range of 1,400 to 2,000 metric tons.
“These businesses perfectly complement our large HPDC strategy with GF Automotive and our gravity and low-pressure diecasting strategy with Montupet, collectively giving us the full spectrum of capabilities for targeted light metal components,” stated Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz.
Linamar, headquartered in Guelph, Ont., has four operating divisions, Machining & Assembly, Light Metal Casting, Forging, and Skyjack. In 2016 it acquired Montupet, an aluminum automotive foundry group based in France, for $875 million. Its joint-venture aluminum diecasting and machining complex, GF Linamar LLC in Henderson County, SC, is scheduled to start up this year.
The prospective buyer predicted the three plants have projected revenue $114 million (€100 million), with available casting capacity and floor space. IF the proposed acquisitions are completed, Linamar will gain approximately 650 full-time employees and other temporary employees.
It further noted that the purchase would “strengthen and grow Linamar’s relationship with customers in Europe, with facility locations strategically located near key existing and potential customers and an excellent skilled workforce.” Linamar expects to finance the acquisition through existing credit facilities and in the near term invest in the plants to leverage Arche capabilities to grow the business.