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August 1999
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AA Committee Chairman, Sir Brian Shaw, has stated that the sale to Centrica is necessary due to the changing market. "The interests of the AA, its members, customers and staff will be best served by being part of a larger group", he is quoted as saying. The transaction, which is subject to the satisfaction of various conditions including the approval of various voting members of the AA, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 1999. It is currently estimated that each eligible member will receive a cash payment of approximately £240.(8/99) Finelist has announced that it is to sell its Maccess cash and carry subsidiary in a £69.3 million deal financed by Barclays Private Equity. The company is being sold to Managing Director Tim Dean, Operations Director Martyn Sharp, Purchasing Director Bob Ackroyd and Finance Director Nigel Robertson in a management buyout for a fee of £28.2 million in cash and £1.2 million in loan notes in addition to a deferred payment of up to £5.7 million depending on the company’s performance as a commitment to take on £34.2 million of debt. In the year ended June 30th 1998 Maccess made £7.7 million profits on turnover of £81.2 million. The company employs more than 700 staff across its 24 UK branches and its Warrington based distribution centre. (8/99) Daewoo to Sell parts Unit to Delphi Daewoo has announced that it has agreed to sell its 50% stake in its Daewoo Automotive Components joint venture to Delphi Automotive for $231million. At the same time the company’s shock absorber and steering knuckle operation is also being sold to Delphi for an additional $165 million. (8/99) Armour Automotive Acquires Autoleads The Armour Automotive Group has announced that it has acquired the Bordon based specialist car audio leads manufacturer, Autoleads Ltd. The company, which also trades under the Power Connection brand, supplies full wiring kits and individual component parts to the car audio and telecommunications market. Jim Johnson, Managing Director of car audio firm Radiomobile, a Armour Automotive company, has been appointed as Autoleads’ new MD although company founder Steve Patient will remain involved for 12 months to assist with the integration of the business into the Armour Group. (8/99) Faurecia Sales Growth in First Half PSA subsidiary Faurecia has announced that its consolidated sales rose to E 2,173.3 million in the first half of 1999, an increase of 7.4% over the same period in 1998. As in the first quarter, sales in the automotive seating division benefited from sustained growth in the French market along with the division’s involvement in new vehicles (including the Peugeot 206, Renault Kangoo and the Matra Espace). This growth was further enhanced by a more positive second quarter in the UK while in Germany increased sales to VW and Audi offset declining sales to BMW. The exhaust systems division maintained the strong growth rate recorded in the first quarter. During the first half year sales rose by 17.7% overall, with increased sales of catalytic converters accounting for 8% of this growth. Sales growth in the vehicle interior division weakened slightly in second quarter due to a decline in tooling revenues. Looking at sales of finished products only, the growth rate was +7.9% in the second quarter and +11.1% over the half year as a whole. This division benefitted from increased sales of airbags and from new markets secured during the period such as the Renault Twingo instrument panel and the Laguna console. Growth in the front end module division during the second quarter reflects the expansion of functions in the new Audi A4. (8/99) Hella Launches 1999 Battery Partner Concept Hella have launched their 1999 Battery Partner Concept with a range of benefits for participating customers including a new stock reservation scheme, a special pricing plan and a series of marketing support initiatives, including point of sale material, new catalogues and promotional leaflets. In addition, customers who commit to Hella as their first line supplier for batteries will receive an exclusive agreed sales area. Prices, says Hella, are competitive and guaranteed for the season with a special plan to spread out payments on any orders placed between July and October. (8/99) Servicetrak Award for AA Workshop Services AA Workshop Services has won a top award for customer services from leading leasing and vehicle management company, Autolease Limited. The ServiceTrak award for "overall group achievement" was made to AA Workshop Services after a 12 month review of customer feedback, covering quality of service, speed of esponse and working relationships. Stefan Efthimiou received the award from Barry Hall, Autolease’s Operations Director at a presentation in Birmingham on 28 June (8/99) Castrol Compass Gives Direction to Motor Trade Castrol
has introduced a new marketing tool aimed at offering
franchised dealerships in the UK a simple and effective
way of targeting existing and potential customers. Called
"Castrol Compass", the new initiative is part
of Castrol’s "Liquid Assets" dealer
support programme and gives detailed customer profiles
combined with area specific analysis and a dealership
Priority Action Report. Castrol Compass uses DVLA data to establish a dealership’s target market. Backed by advice and guidance from the local Castrol Field Manager and the company’s Marketing Support Centre, the programme gives p to date details via specific postcode districts on new and used cars, company car models and registrations, opulation demographic make-up, private and company registered vehicles I the area and whether drivers are male or female. Some reports also provide competitor marque information. Compass also provides a range of marketing solutions designed to build customer loyalty and win business. Current initiatives include MOT Master, a programme allowing dealerships to lock-in customers by issuing a guarantee against MOT failure, a pre-booking scheme, the Castrol Premier loyalty card and a service to cleanse lapsed customers from computer databases. (8/99) Hella has announced that it has purchased the UK based air conditioning components and servicing company, Vehicle Air Conditioning Services Ltd (VACS) for an undisclosed sum. According to Wolfgang Benz, the Managing Director of Hella, the move is a good strategic fit and will enable the company to supply a comprehensive all makes programme of air conditioning parts within the UK market. On a global level, the acquisition is also considered to have long term strategic implications bearing in mind Hella’s recently formed strategic alliance with Behr, the climate control systems supplier. (8/99) Tomkins Completes ACD Tridon Acquisition Tomkins has announced that it has completed the acquisition, announced on 1 April, of ACD Tridon, for Can$152 million. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Devtek Corporation, a Canadian public company. Tridon is a leading manufacturer of fully integrated windshield wiper systems and is also a producer of hose clamps supplying the automotive industry worldwide. The company has 1,650 employees, with operations covering ten facilities located in the US, UK, Canada, Argentina and Italy. (8/99) Visteon Earns $282 Million in Second Quarter Visteon Automotive Systems is reporting second quarter 1999 net income of $282 million, up 17 percent from a year ago. Revenue for the second quarter was $5.1 billion, up 7 percent from 1998, with an after-tax return on sales of 5.7 percent, up 6/10 of a point. For the first half of 1999, net income was $490 million versus $430 million for the same period a year ago. First half 1999 revenue was $9.8 billion compared with $9.1 billion in the prior year, while after-tax return on sales was 5.0 percent, up 3/10 of a point. "We are making progress in the areas that are essential to Visteon’s profitable growth – increasing our non-Ford and aftermarket businesses, developing winning technologies, and simultaneously delivering bottom-line results," said Craig H. Muhlhauser, the company's President. "We are doing this by leveraging our unique systems engineering expertise to integrate electronics and produce technology-driven systems solutions for our customers – solutions that are consumer focused, and provide outstanding value and product differentiation." Muhlhauser highlighted two important achievements during the first half of 1999. First, Visteon won $1.1 billion of annualized new business, more than a third from non-Ford customers, 30 percent outside North America, and about 10 percent in the aftermarket. Second, the acquisition of Plastic Omnium’s automotive interior division elevated Visteon to the no. 1 supplier of automotive cockpits in Europe and accelerated achievement of Visteon's prior goal of 20 percent non-Ford business in the region by 2002. (8/99). Varta Receives Quality Award from VW Varta's Hannover plant was among 23 suppliers to receive the "Qualitätspreis Formel-Q-1999 der Marke Volkswagen" award on 9th July, 1999. The award ceremony took place at the launch of the new 3 liter Lupo in Gothenburg, Sweden. (8/99) Delphi Acquires Equity Interest in Akebono Brake Delphi Automotive Systems has announced that it intends to purchase 5.5 million shares of Tokyo-based brake supplier, Akebono. The investment is valued at approximately US$15 million and represents about a 5.9 percent interest in the company. Delphi says it expects the ownership stake in Akebono to strengthen its global presence in the automotive brake business, broaden its technology base and support the continued growth of Delphi's modular brake business through a variety of joint programs designed to enhance shareholder value. The deal is expected to finalise by the end of July. (8/99) |
The battle for
control of the AA has intensified with the news that
Centrica and the Committee of the AA have agreed a £1.1
million deal for Centrica, formerly known as part of
British Gas, to acquire the UK’s leading motoring
organisation. The acquisition of the AA is seen as a
natural development for Centrica who control the Goldfish
credit card as well as having interests in the home
insurance, electricity supply and plumbing services
markets. The company also has a database currently
consisting of 17 million names and addresses.
The
programme is aimed to help dealers to understand their
territory, prioritise core issues and provide marketing
solutions to address issues raised.