The sale of Hydro's Automotive Structures business to the Germany-based Benteler Group has been finalized. The unit's 1,200 employees joined Benteler on January 1.
MAJOR: The Raufoss facility is the largest in the Automotive Structures unit, now owned by Benteler Group. (Photo: Terje S. Knudsen)
Automotive Structures was part of Hydro's Automotive sector in the Extruded Products business area.
Its largest operation is located in Raufoss, Norway, but the unit also has activities in China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, South Korea, Sweden and the United States.
Hydro announced on October 27, 2009 that it had agreed to sell its Automotive Structures activities to Benteler, and that the acquisition would be effective from January 1, pending relevant approvals. On December 31 Hydro completed the divestment.
As announced on October 27, the transaction is cash neutral for Hydro. An after tax loss of NOK 250 million will be recognized in Hydro's fourth quarter 2009 results.
More than 70 percent of Benteler's business volume is with the automotive industry, and the company is one of the industry's largest independent suppliers.