Linamar Corp. has agreed to purchase a “substantial portion” of Michigan-based supplier Mobex Global’s American assets, as the Canadian parts company builds out its newly formed structures group.
The Guelph, Ont.-based supplier will pay US $70 million in cash for a series of U.S. manufacturing plants that produce chassis and suspension modules and components, including steering knuckles, control arms and subframes.
Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz said the agreement is the company’s “latest step” in realigning its automotive footprint toward components not reliant on internal combustion engine powertrains.
"The addition of the sales from this business takes our [electric vehicle] and propulsion-agnostic business to nearly 60 per cent of our total mobility sales in just a couple of years, a great way for us to stay flexible in a shifting marketplace,” she said in a Sept. 21 release.
Southfield, Mich.-based Mobex owns seven plants across four states, but Linamar did not disclose how many of the sites will change hands as part of the deal. Mobex facilities in Europe and China are not included.
Following the acquisition, Linamar plans to fold the Mobex plants into its structures group that was formed in August. The new group includes several recently acquired plants in the United States and Europe, as well as the company’s giga castings plant under construction in Welland, Ont.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
