FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — GDX International Holdings Ltd. (GDX), a global supplier of sealing systems and glass encapsulation products for the automotive sector, is being sold to MAPS Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Chicago-based private equity firm, Wynnchurch Capital.
As part of this transaction, MAPS Holdings will acquire GDX’s global headquarters in Farmington Hills, MI, and the company’s operating facilities in New Haven, MO, Welland, Ontario, Guadalajara, Mexico, and Grefrath and Rehburg, Germany, as well as facilities in the Czech Republic and GDX’s joint venture operations in China. Terms of the transaction were not announced.
MAPS Holdings also recently acquired the North American business of Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems. GDX is owned by funds and accounts managed by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P.
The transaction is expected to close in late November. The closing is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions, including the finalization of agreements with major customers concerning the ongoing business, as well as reaching various agreements concerning facilities that are not included in the transaction. These excluded facilities are GDX’s operations in Batesville, AR, Wabash, IN, and Magog, Quebec, as well as subsidiaries operating in Spain and France.
"We are very pleased to have entered into an agreement with MAPS Holdings and believe the sale agreement announced today provides the best long-term prospects for the company’s customers, employees and other stakeholders," said Timothy Nelson, chief operating officer of GDX North America Inc. "We are excited about working with Metzeler’s North American management team as we focus on delivering quality service and highly engineered sealing systems to our customers."
"Combining GDX with MAPS Holdings represents an attractive opportunity to dramatically grow our business and establish the global footprint needed to better support our customers in today’s highly competitive and increasingly global automotive sealing industry," added Rob DePierre, chief executive officer of MAPS Holdings. "Our goal is to build an organization dedicated to world class customer service and manufacturing excellence."
