Cooper Standard to form JV with FMEA

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Novi, Michigan - Automotive components supplier Cooper Standard has signed an agreement with Fonds de Modernisation des Equipementiers Automobiles (FMEA) to establish a joint venture that would combine Cooper Standard's French body-sealing operations and the operations of Société des Polymères Barre-Thomas (SPBT).

SPBT is a French supplier of anti-vibration systems and low-pressure hoses, as well as body sealing products, which FMEA will acquire as a preliminary step to the joint venture transaction, Cooper Standard said in a 20 April announcement.

The joint venture entity, to be named Cooper Standard France, will be owned 51 percent by Cooper Standard and 49 percent by the FMEA.

Cooper Standard France is expected to generate 2011 sales, on a pro forma basis, totaling about euro 230 million, with operations including three manufacturing facilities in France and one in Poland, and a 50-percent interest in an anti-vibration systems business in India. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.

“We are pleased to partner with FMEA in combining our French body sealing business with SPBT's operations,” said Jim McElya, Cooper Standard ceo. “This is a significant step in Cooper Standard's overall global strategy, as it not only expands our existing body sealing capability, but also provides anti-vibration and hose capability in Europe.”

He added, “This transaction rounds out our global offering in these product lines and further enables us to provide our broad product portfolio to customers in all major automotive markets. The joint venture will strengthen our partnership with the French automakers in the French and European markets, and everywhere in the world they do business.”

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Press release from Cooper Standard