Automotive lighting giant HELLA merges with Faurecia!

In April this year, foreign media reported that the German automotive lighting giant Hella, jointly operated by the industrial family Hueck family and the Röpke family (a total of about 60% of the shares), will be sold as a whole.
In the end, Hella "flowers" French auto parts supplier Faurecia
.

It is reported that since the announcement of the sale intention, potential manufacturers who participated in the bidding or expressed interest in acquiring 60% of HELLA include the consortium formed by Advent and Bain Capital (Bain Capital), and the strategic investor China Huayu Automobile (Hasco).
, France Faurecia, Munich truck and train brake manufacturer Knorr-Bremse, France Plastic Omnium, Stuttgart engine parts and air conditioning technology specialist MAHLE,
etc.

The world's seventh largest auto parts supplier was born

On August 14, HELLA announced that it had signed an agreement with Faurecia, and the two parties formally merged, indicating that the world's seventh largest auto parts supplier is about to be born
.
However, the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in early 2022
.

As part of the transaction, Faurecia will acquire 60% of the shares held by HELLA shareholders, in addition to which Faurecia will submit a voluntary public tender offer for 60 euros per share HELLA's remaining shares
.

The Hueck family will acquire 9% of Faurecia's shares through reverse shareholding, becoming Faurecia's largest single shareholder.
A representative of the Hueck family will also join Faurecia's board of directors and will continue to support HELLA closely in the future.

.
After the merger, HELLA's headquarters in Lippstadt, Germany, will remain the business center for both parties
.

HELLA, founded in 1899, and Faurecia, founded in 1997, are leaders in their respective fields.
After the merger, they will become the world's seventh largest auto parts supplier, further enhancing their expertise in electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and vehicle interiors.
Market positions in key growth areas such as design create significant room for future profitable growth
.

It is understood that HELLA has deep technical reserves and high brand awareness in the fields of automotive lighting systems, sensors, battery systems and electronic power steering components.
Products such as glare high beam xenon headlights are already in series production, and HELLA is one of the leading manufacturers of the 24 GHz radar required by car manufacturers to develop driver assistance systems
.

As the world's eighth largest auto parts supplier, Faurecia is also a global leader in four business areas: car seats, emission control technology systems, and automotive interiors and exteriors
.

As early as the end of 2018, HELLA and Faurecia have started close cooperation on innovative lighting solutions for automotive interiors, and both parties share a common vision, values ​​and culture
.
In the future, with Faurecia's competitive advantages in seating and interiors and HELLA's expertise in interior lighting, sensors and electronic components for vehicle access systems, the development of both parties in the field of innovative solutions for automotive interiors will more predictable
.

After the product portfolio and market resources are integrated, the two parties will have key advantages in areas such as strategic drivers that are revolutionary to the auto parts industry
.

The trend of resource integration in the automotive lighting industry is gradually emerging

The merger of HELLA and Faurecia is conducive to the integration of advantageous resources and industrial synergies.
The significance for business expansion is also obvious: through the merger of HELLA, Faurecia will better penetrate into the German automaker's market.
supply chain
.
Faurecia's good relationships with key OEMs in China, Japan, and the United States will also create greater growth potential for HELLA's business
.

From the merger of HELLA and Faurecia, it can be seen that the trend of resource integration in the automotive industry is becoming more and more obvious
.
In fact, since the beginning of this year, there have been many cases of cross-border cooperation and mergers and acquisitions in the automotive field, especially in the automotive lighting field
.
For example, HELLA and Faurecia have each carried out related business expansions this year
.

In June, Faurecia announced the acquisition of designLED Products, a Scottish LED lighting technology specialist, which has developed advanced, flexible technology for a wide range of automotive lighting and Human Machine Interface (HMI) applications
.

In the same month, HELLA announced that Fuwei HELLA Automotive Lighting and its Chinese partner Danyang Yinuo Optoelectronics Technology Co.
, Ltd.
jointly established a joint venture company, Fuwei Hainuo
.
Fuwei Hainuo will establish two core technology platforms of vehicle lamp module and driver, aiming to become the core supplier of vehicle lamp electronic control and lighting system, build vehicle intelligent vision system, and provide vehicle lamp system solutions for global customers
.

At the end of July, Marelli Automotive Lighting, the lighting division of Marelli in Italy, and Samvardhana Motherson Automotive Systems Group (SMRP BV), a manufacturer of automotive interior and exterior parts, reached a strategic cooperation.
The two parties will be committed to developing intelligent lighting exterior parts
.
With the gradual introduction of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving (AD) into automotive applications, both parties are optimistic about the growth opportunities for front grilles, bumpers and other automotive lighting components in the future automotive field
.

In July, Foshan Lighting completed the acquisition of Nanning Liaowang Auto Lighting Factory, and acquired about 53% of Nanning Liaowang's shares for 488 million yuan
.
Through the holding of Nanning Lewang, Foshan Lighting will further realize the transformation from light source to automotive lighting fixtures, improve and deepen its layout in the field of automotive lighting, and better leverage industrial synergies
.

In July, Debang Lighting completed the acquisition of 70% of the shares of Shanghai Liangqin and Wuhan Liangxinpeng, which are related to automotive lighting, by means of capital increase.
Competitive position in the field of automotive lighting
.

In addition, Debon Lighting also announced in August that Debon Automotive Lighting, a wholly-owned subsidiary, became the supplier of Wanxiang 123 Co.
, Ltd.
, mainly responsible for supplying the controller part of the vehicle battery management system (BMS).
This move also helps To promote Debang Lighting to establish cooperative relations with world-renowned automobile manufacturers or their suppliers, and enter the supply chain of automobile manufacturers
.

Many cases show that the integration trend of the automotive lighting industry is gradually emerging.
Whether it is cooperation, mergers and acquisitions or holding, for manufacturers themselves, resource integration is conducive to reducing enterprise R&D costs and enhancing comprehensive competitiveness; Better achieve business expansion and gain greater initiative in related fields
.
As far as the industry is concerned, the merger and cooperation between major manufacturers is expected to change the pattern of the automotive lighting market, and the competition between manufacturers will be more intense and exciting in the future
.