Metair buys car battery manufacturer Rombat

Metair Investments, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Metair International Holdings Cooperatief U.A. has acquired a 99 percent stake in Romanian automotive lead-acid batteries manufacturer Rombat SA for  EUR 42.8 million.

The transaction is one of the highest ever recorded in the local automotive sector. Metair Investments purchased a 90.05 percent interest in Rombat SA a from Trebela Limited, Dorel Goia, Ioan Repede, members of management who are shareholders in Rombat  and certain minority shareholders of Rombat; and  agreed to further purchase a 9.09 percent interest in Rombat from the remaining minority shareholders.

Rombat is the largest lead-acid battery manufacturer in Romania, producing a range of over two million batteries per year from its plants in Bistrita. It is vertically integrated with its own recycling plant which recovers lead and polypropylene through the recycling of used automotive batteries. Around 80 percent of its products are sold through its own distribution network to aftermarket customers in Romania and Europe. Its products are sold under the Rombat brand.
The company says the acquisition of Rombat is consistent with its strategic intent of targeting acquisitions in the aftermarket sector where it can take advantage of its technological        expertiseThe acquisition offers Metair the option to accelerate its penetration of the European Start/ Stop market by using Rombat’s distribution network, experience, and position in Romania and the European battery market. At the same time, the company is looking to develop Rombat’s aftermarket and non-automotive product offering to include non-automotive battery products such as standby, truck, forklift and nuclear battery standby systems.

The company’s announcement regarding the acquisition here.

PwC Romania and its correspondent law firm in Romania, D&B David şi Baias, provided financial, tax and legal advice on the buyer side. Metair was also assisted by the South-African law-firm Taback.

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Metair Investment Limited e compasses companies in production and distribution, mainly in the auto industry. It includes First National Battery, the largest batter manufacturer in South Africa, Lumotech, Hesto Harnesses, Smiths Manufacturing, Smiths Plastics, Supreme Spring and Ate, Tenneco Automotive Holdings, Unitrade and Valeo Systems South Africa. The company’s clients include Daimler Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW and MAN. Last year, the group reported revenues of EUR 429.4 million.