Adient agrees to purchase automotive seating supplier Futuris Group

Adient PLC. (NYSE: ADNT), the global leader in automotive seating, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Futuris Group. The purchase price is approximately $360 million including the assumption of approximately $18 million of net debt. Privately held Futuris is headquartered in Oak Park, Michigan.

Adient expects the transaction to add approximately $500M in revenue on an annual basis. It is expected to be accretive to Adient’s adjusted fiscal 2018 earnings per share.

Futuris, owned by affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, is a global designer and manufacturer of fully integrated automotive seating and interior systems. It operates 15 facilities in North America and Asia.

The company provides full seating systems, seat frames, seat trim, headrests, armrests and seat bolsters. In North America, the company’s primary customers include Tesla, Ford and General Motors, as well as other automotive seating suppliers. It was the first automotive seating company to focus on West Coast automakers, and has a growing backlog of business with several of these customers. In Asia, customers include Geely, Chery and Brilliance.

“Futuris has a rapidly growing book of business that strengthens our position with West Coast customers, improves our utilization rates in North America and expands our business in Southeast Asia. In China, Futuris’ concentration on local brands is complementary to our existing business,” said Bruce McDonald, Adient chairman and chief executive officer. “We believe this transaction will create new value for our shareholders.”

The acquisition is expected to provide substantial synergies through vertical integration, purchasing and logistics improvements, and by applying the best business practices and process optimization of the Adient Manufacturing System to optimize operational efficiencies.

The transaction is expected to close by approximately September 30, 2017, pending regulatory and anti-trust approvals.

Adient will hold a conference call for financial analysts to discuss this transaction today at 11:30 Eastern. To participate by telephone, analysts should dial 800-779-1454 (U.S) or 1-312-470-7220 (international) 15 minutes prior to the start time of the call and ask to be connected to the Adient conference call. The conference passcode is ADIENT. A listen only webcast can be accessed through the investor section of Adient.com

About Adient:

Adient is a global leader in automotive seating. With 75,000 employees operating 230 manufacturing/assembly plants in 33 countries worldwide, we produce and deliver automotive seating for all vehicle classes and all major OEMs. From complete seating systems to individual components, our expertise spans every step of the automotive seat-making process. Our integrated, in-house skills allow us to take our products from research and design all the way to engineering and manufacturing – and into more than 25 million vehicles every year.