From Canadian Press
BRANTFORD, Ontario — Wescast Industries said Tuesday it will pay $53.7 million to buy Linamar Corp.’s stake in a European autoparts maker set up by the two Ontario-based companies.
Wescast and Linamar had been feuding over how to divide their interests in Weslin Industries Inc., a European joint venture they established in 1999 to design, sell and manufacture exhaust manifolds, turbo charger housings and integrated turbo manifolds for light vehicles.
The purchase and sale settles the legal issues between Wescast and Linamar, the companies announced Tuesday.
Ed Frackowiak, chairman and CEO of Wescast, said that “with Wescast now owning all of Weslin, we can proceed at full speed with our European strategy and provide our European customers with full service capability.
“This is a positive move for both Linamar and Wescast as both of us focus on our core businesses and strategic plans.”
Linamar has more than 9,400 employees in 34 manufacturing locations, four research and development centers and eight sales offices in Canada, United States, Mexico, Germany, Hungary and Japan.
Wescast bills itself as the world’s largest supplier of exhaust manifolds for passenger cars and light trucks.
Shares in Wescast closed down 95 cents at $36.05, while Linamar was off one cent at $13.30.
Copyright 2004 The Canadian Press. All Rights Reserved.
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