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India's Bharat Forge buys German forging firm

NEW DELHI, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Indian auto parts maker Bharat Forge Ltd said it had acquired one of Germany's biggest forging firms, Carl Dan Peddinghaus GmbH (CDP), in a deal that would make it the world's second-biggest forging firm.

Bharat, a leading maker and exporter of crankshafts and axles, said in a statement late on Saturday it would buy all fixed assets, inventory and business of Carl Dan Peddinghaus through a specially set up company.

The firm, based in the western Indian city of Pune, did not disclose the value of the deal. It said the purchase, effective January 1, 2004, would be funded through internal accruals.

The German company, headquartered in Ennepetal near Dusseldorf, is profitable, employs 790 people and had sales of 116 million euros in 2002, Bharat said.

It supplies chassis parts to leading European automakers BMW , Volkswagen , Audi, DaimlerChrysler and Volvo , and also provides product design and development services.

"This will help Bharat Forge strengthen and expand its business in Europe and enhance technology capability, especially in the passenger car segment where CDP has a large presence," said Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani.

Bharat Forge reported net profit of 811 million rupees on net sales of 6.89 billion ($151 million) in the year to March. It exported parts worth 2.71 billion rupees to 24 companies including DaimlerChrysler, Renault and Volvo. ($1=45.74 rupees)