Ayala unit buys German auto supplier MT Misslbeck

Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala

The industrial holding firm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. has hatched a deal to take over MT Misslbeck Technologies GmbH (MT), a German supplier of models, tools and plastic parts to the automotive manufacturing industry.

AC Industrial Technology Holdings Inc. (AC Industrials), through AC Industrials (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., signed the acquisition of 94.9 percent of MT in a deal valued at €26.8 million based on total enterprise value. The closing of the transaction is subject to completion conditions and regulatory approval.

“This investment forms part of AC Industrials’ strategy to increase its competence and capabilities in the automotive value chain and will complement AC Industrials’ existing businesses in manufacturing services and vehicle distribution and dealerships,” Ayala said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

MT supplies automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and automobile tier 1 suppliers. The company, which traces its roots to a workshop established in 1869, has production plants in Ingolstadt, Germany.

The company designs and creates models of entire cars or parts of a car, develops, designs and manufactures injection moulds for metal and plastic car parts, and produces automotive plastic parts for prototyping and serial production.

Ayala said that since the formation of this wholly-owned industrial unit last year, AC Industrials has “actively pursued investments as part of its strategy to assemble a portfolio of businesses that develop, enable, manufacture, and commercialize automotive and other industrial technologies.”

In April 2016, AC Industrials signed a partnership agreement with Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM AG for the production and distribution of motorcycles in the Philippines.

Last year, AC Industrials, through Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) acquired a 76 percent stake in VIA Optronics, a German-based display solutions provider. Finally, in May, IMI completed the acquisition of an 80 percent stake in STI Enterprises Limited, an electronics design and manufacturing solutions company based in the United Kingdom.

Ayala has consolidated its car dealership and industrial operations into AC Industrials, which in turn seeks to play a bigger role in manufacturing and contribute to the country’s rise into a Southeast Asian industrial hub.

AC Industrials also houses Ayala’s car dealership businesses across the Honda, Isuzu, and Volkswagen brands apart from the existing and future assets of IMI. Apart from the KTM business, also holds distributorship interests such as the 13 percent stake in Honda Cars Philippines Inc., the 15 percent stake in Isuzu Philippines Corp. and the wholly owned interests in Automobile Central Enterprise Inc., the official Philippine importer and distributor of Volkswagen.