New York, NY (January 10, 2012) -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") announced today that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire The Bosch Group’s automotive foundation brakes business (“Bosch Foundation Brakes” or the “Company”) through a newly-formed affiliate. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Bosch Foundation Brakes, headquartered in Drancy, France, is one of the world's largest manufacturers of automotive foundation brakes and foundation brake components. The Company’s primary products, which include brake calipers, disk brakes, drum brakes, and parking brakes, are sold directly to original equipment manufacturers and through various aftermarket channels. In 2010, Bosch Foundation Brakes generated €850 million ($1.1 billion) in total sales volume. The Company employs 5,200 associates at twenty locations, of which fifteen are manufacturing facilities, in Europe, Asia, and South America.
Michael Psaros, a KPS Managing Partner, said, “KPS is very excited to create one of the leading manufacturers of foundation brakes, building on our many years of experience investing in the automotive industry. The Company will launch with a technologically advanced product offering and a leading reputation for quality, durability, delivery, and customer support and product innovation. The Company is ideally positioned to benefit from the world’s fastest-growing markets. In addition, the combination of the Company’s customer relationships and knowledge base of its thousands of associates worldwide, together with the financial resources provided by KPS, will accelerate the Company’s growth as an independent enterprise.”
Mr. Bernd Bohr, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of Bosch’s Automotive Group, said, “In selling our foundation brakes business to KPS, we have chosen a leading private equity firm with many years of experience in the industrial sector.”
Ms. Martina Merz, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation Brakes Business, said, “Our objective is to build a leading supplier of foundation brakes and I believe that the Company’s strong balance sheet and access to KPS’s financial resources will enable it to achieve that objective. I am very confident that by tailoring the business processes to foundation-related requirements and by continuing to leverage the skill, creativity and talent of our associates, the new Company will achieve its full potential.”
Completion of the transaction is expected in spring 2012 and is subject to customary closing conditions.
Lazard Frères & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor and Hengeler Mueller as legal counsel to KPS and its affiliates.
About KPS Capital Partners
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $19.7 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2024). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds’ portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $22.2 billion, operate 222 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries, and have approximately 58,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2024, pro forma for recent acquisitions). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.