goetzpartners advised Getrag Corporate Group on the sale of its Axle Business to GKN plc

goetzpartners Corporate Finance, in exercise of the M&A joint venture with German LBBW, acted as financial advisor to Getrag during the entire transaction process.

Getrag’s axle business is a Tier 1 supplier for all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive driveline systems solutions. The business is comprised of the companies Getrag All Wheel Drive AB with the European locations Köping, Sweden and Cologne, Germany as well as Getrag Corporation with the North American locations in Sterling Heights, Michigan and Newton, North Carolina. The combined revenues of the two businesses exceed $650m. Closing of this transaction is expected by the end of September 2011, subject to customary conditions and necessary regulatory approvals.

The transaction enables Getrag to simplify its operational structure by focusing on core manual and DCT transmission technologies and electrification in GETRAG in order to meet the increasing demand for the Group’s dual clutch transmissions in China, Europe and America. Getrag wants to ensure that that it is able to satisfy the growing number of customers. Furthermore, although the axle business came out of the economic crisis very successfully, the sale offers a strategic advantage for all parties involved.