Altran Acquires SWELL, a Leading Provider of Engineering Services for the Automotive Industry

    Altran has announced the acquisition of SWELL, a leading provider of automotive engineering, development and testing services, based in the Czech Republic. These core capabilities, which are complemented by extensive prototyping skills and CAE know-how, will become part of Altran’s Body-in-White offer.

    SWELL provides services to the European automotive industry with a portfolio of premium clients in Germany and with long lasting relations to key OEMs. Clients include Skoda Auto, Robert Bosch, Continental, Magna and Honeywell.

    With its headquarters, engineering offices, prototyping workshops and testing facilities in the Czech Republic, SWELL has experienced a strong growth over the past years and its workforce is now composed of c.160 employees.

    Commenting on the acquisition, Dominique Cerutti, Chairman & CEO of the Altran Group,

stated: “We made Germany a priority market for Altran in our Altran 2020. Ignition strategic plan. With the acquisitions of SWELL and BENTELER Engineering, announced earlier this month, we have rebuilt our capacity and capabilities in the region. SWELL also offers potential to be integrated to our Industrialized GlobalShore(R) network as a nearshoring platform, which will be a differentiator in providing our automotive clients around the globe with an integrated offer addressing the complete vehicle.”

    Founded in 1993, SWELL was owned by Genesis Private Equity Fund II. The acquisition is expected to be completed in 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

    Legal and Financial Information: 

    Altran advisors: 

    – Legal and Legal Due Diligence: Novalia

    – Financial and Tax Due Diligence: Mazars

    SWELL advisors: 

    – Financial: EY

    About Altran 

    As a global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), Altran offers its clients a new way to innovate by developing the products and services of tomorrow. Altran works alongside its clients on every link in the value chain of their project, from conception to industrialization. For over thirty years, the Group has provided its expertise to key players in the Aerospace, Automotive, Defence, Energy, Finance, Life Sciences, Railway, and Telecoms sectors, among others. In 2015, the Altran group generated revenues of EUR1.945bn. With a headcount of more than 27,000 employees, Altran has a presence in more than 20 countries.

    About SWELL 

    The company SWELL was established in 1993 and has become successful in the field of applied research and development in the automotive industry in the Czech Republic. The range of its services offered currently includes construction services, CAD/CAE, numerical simulations, development and special components testing, car bodywork prototypes and production stamping tools. The company is a recognized research and development partner of European automobile manufacturers and their suppliers. With a growing team of over 160 highly qualified employees, it offers services to a stable customer base of more than a hundred clients in 15 countries. Among the main clients there are leading automotive brands, such as Skoda Auto, Magna, Hella, Continental, Bosch, Honeywell, Iveco.