AM Staff 11/03/2009 The Stanley Works will acquire The Black & Decker Corp. in an all-stock, $4.5-billion transaction. Stanley supplies tools for industrial, construction, and do-it-yourself use; and Black & Decker manufactures power tools and accessories, hardware and home improvement …
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Revstone and KPS Portfolio Co. Goes for Metaldyne Assets
Hephaestus Holdings looks to buy the auto parts maker’s powertrain assets while Revstone looks to capitalize on chassis operations buy.
By JONATHAN MARINO
July 28, 2009
A pair of private equity firms are vying for separate parts of Metaldyne Corp. assets; Hephaestus Holdings, a KPS Capital company, and Revstone will look to buy much of the bankrupt auto parts maker’s chassis business.
The automotive sector, virtually across the board, wears tire tracks on its back after being especially hard hit during the recession. GM’s and Chrysler’s respective bankruptcies set off a chain of events affecting companies serving them from parts makers to GPS trackers.
Revstone has been making distressed acquisitions lately; earlier this year, it bought six plants from bankrupt auto parts maker Contech.
Hephaestus was approved as a stalking horse bidder for powertrain assets by a New York bankruptcy court and Revstone was approved to make the chassis operations bid; auctions will commence August 5 with bids due two days earlier.
Hephaestus wants to buy Metaldyne’s sintered products, European forgings and vibration controls products operations located in Europe, Asia, Brazil, Mexico and America. A Hephaestus affiliate looks to buy Metaldyne’s Bluffton, Ind.; Litchfield, Mich., and, subject to certain conditions, the Twinsburg, Ohio, plant. KPS Capital Partners will provide Hephaestus with a significant, yet unspecified, cash investment to support letters of credit and working capital.
Separately, Revstone is bidding on the purchase of Metaldyne’s chassis operations in Edon, Ohio; Greensboro, N.C.; Barcelona, Spain, and Iztapalapa, Mexico. The auction date for that segment will be August 3, with bids due July 31.
Revstone and Hephaestus are not the only two bidders for Metaldyne’s parts, however. RHJ International initially submitted a bid, which was trumped by Hephaestus, and a Carlyle bid was beat by Revstone. Calls were not returned by press time.
Metaldyne had 2008 revenue of $1.57 billion.
Metaldyne’s Balance Shaft Module and Tubular businesses are being marketed by the investment banking firm Donnelly Penman & Partners. Metaldyne’s Powertrain and Chassis operations are being marketed by Lazard.
Kinetic Die Casting is a die casting company specializing in aluminum and zinc parts. If you would like to request a quote, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
Purchasing the Best Hardware Handle
Aluminum Handles – Purchasing the Best Hardware Handle. Any construction worker dreams of working with lightweight materials and components that are sure to withstand the test of time. A lot of clients of die casting companies look for aluminum hardware handles to aid them in making new doors and other types of furniture. These are made from mold die casting tools to get the precise shape and measurements of the aluminum hardware handles fit for any piece of furniture or automobile. Handles made of aluminum also come with brackets to ensure easy hole drilling and to help attach the electrical components to their respective items. Aside from the aluminum material generating less weight for the overall output of their clients, this also allows the client to produce quality material that consumers can use for a lot of years to come.
Most aluminum hardware handles nowadays, are made of steel that is heavier in weight and is often prone to corrosion in a span of a few years. Since handles are often used for doors and cabinets, it is important to protect the quality of its material by using aluminum to release consumer anxiety over metal rusting and material decay. Moreover, a lot of consumers get to savor the advantage of being able to spend less due to the aluminum handle brackets included in the package. These are already welded components and can be constructed according to specific radii. Consumers can also be confident that handles made from aluminum have the most protective ribs that are distinctly tested for stability.
Kinetic Die Casting is located in Southern California. KDC specializes in aluminum and zinc die casting tooling. If you would like a quote, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
Auto Parts Supplier Cooper-Standard Filed Chapter 11
NOVI, MICH. (Aug. 5, 1:15 p.m. ET) — The parent company of Novi, Mich.-based auto supplier Cooper-Standard Automotive Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 4, saying it can’t pay back its $1.17 billion in debt.
Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. and its U.S subsidiaries filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., making it the 17th major U.S. auto supplier to file for bankruptcy protection this year, according to Automotive News.
The company, which has about 16,000 employees worldwide, makes door, body and sunroof seals and fluid handling systems. It ranks No. 65 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $2.60 billion in 2008.
It blames the downturn in U.S. auto sales for its troubles, and said it will continue to operate as it works out a restructuring plan with its creditors.
The plan under discussion now would reduce Cooper-Standard’s debt to $350 million, the company said.
Cooper-Standard’s largest unsecured creditors include Delaware-based Wilmington Trust Co. ($313 million senior note and $200 million senior note), Ohio’s environmental protection agency ($2.7 million) and Farmington Hills-based Robert Bosch LLC ($713,782), according to the bankruptcy filings.
“The company intends to continue operating ‘business as usual’ during the reorganization process and anticipates no interruption in its supply to customers,” Cooper-Standard said in a statement.
Some current lenders have agreed to provide Cooper-Standard with up to $175 million in debtor-in-possession financing, subject to court approval.
Cooper-Standard Automotive Canada Ltd. will seek relief under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, the company said in a statement.
Kinetic Die Casting manufactures zinc and aluminium die casting. If you would like a quote, please visit our website:Die Casting quote
U.S. Treasury Preparing for Chrysler Bankruptcy
Treasury Preparing for Chrysler Bankruptcy. The UAW announced that a settlement agreement has been reached with Chrysler, Fiat and the U.S. Treasury Department. When Chrysler’s Feb. 17 viability plan was rejected, President Obama gave Chrysler workers and the company a second chance, union officials said. This concessionary agreement, while painful, takes advantage of this opportunity.
The settlement agreement, subject to ratification by UAW members at Chrysler, meets the requirements of U.S. Treasury Department loans to the company. It includes modifications to the union’s 2007 collective bargaining agreement and the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust.
Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, and keynote speaker at NADCA’s upcoming Metalcasting Government Affairs Conference remarked that the treasury plan could affect the wallets of taxpayers. “The Treasury plan reportedly preempts the bankruptcy judge by guaranteeing worker pensions and retiree health care benefits. Similarly, this sets a dangerous precedent for General Motors and Ford.” Morici stated.
Morici further commented, “Obama’s favoritism toward the union in these negotiations is a clear example of political expediency imposing grave economic costs. Specifically, Chapter 11 makes the potential deal with Fiat to provide small car designs to be built in Chrysler factories much less likely. Hence, the company that emerges from Chapter 11 will be much smaller than the one that would have emerged through the task force’s mediation, because the company that emerges from bankruptcy may not have small cars to make at a time when the market wants them. More of Chrysler’s car assembly plants will be permanently shuttered.”
Kinetic Die Casting utilizes die casting to manufacture parts like aluminum car parts, airplane parts, lighting parts and much, much more. If you would like to request a quote, please visit our website:Die Casting quote
Cash for Clunkers helps Automakers
DETROIT (Aug. 6, 11 p.m. ET) — Auto suppliers are ramping up production in line with automakers’ push to rebuild dealership inventories that have been depleted by widespread production shutdowns this summer and the cash-for-clunkers program.
Increased minivan production at the Chrysler Group to restock dealership lots and higher production of General Motors Co.’s GMT900 full-sized pickup platform is driving production increases at the U.S. plants of International Automotive Components Group North America, said John Smail Jr., IAC’s vice president of commercial operations .
Two or three weeks ago, “close to 80 or 85 percent” of IAC’s North American factories were shut down in some form, Smail said. “Most of our facilities are coming back to at least one shift, sometimes two shifts,” he said.
IAC supplies instrument panels, cockpits, door panels, flooring and acoustics.
Smail said cash for clunkers is also driving demand.
Samir Salman, CEO of the NAFTA region for Continental AG, says demand in North America is 10 to 20 percent higher across all company product lines compared with production levels before Chrysler’s bankruptcy, but the cash-for-clunkers program is only one factor driving the increases.
“One fact that we shouldn’t forget is that Chrysler was for roughly two months in bankruptcy where they idled all their production. And we had massive shutdowns from GM,” Salman said.
The depleted dealership inventories combined with cash for clunkers are increasing demand more quickly than would have happened normally.
Kinetic Die Casting is a aluminum and zinc die casting company. If you would like to know more information, please visit our website:Kinetic Die Casting Company
