ANN ARBOR, MI — Prestolite Electric Holding, has sold the Acton (London, England) manufacturing facility of Prestolite Electric Limited, the company’s UK subsidiary.
Prestolite sold the subsidiary to Lemon Land Limited for approximately $47 million. The Acton facility had a book value of $9 million. In connection with the purchase, Prestolite retained the right to occupy the facility through the end of 2004.
Prestolite intends to move some of the current production of the Acton facility to a facility to be leased in the London area, to transfer some of the production to other Prestolite facilities outside the U.K. and to discontinue other production (in-line pumps) during the second quarter of 2004. In-line pumps generated approximately $9 million of Prestolite’s sales in 2003. Redundancy payments and moving expenses associated with these changes are expected to total about $11 million. The restructuring of the company’s operations in the U.K. is expected to be complete by the end of 2004.
Separately, Prestolite announced the closing of its operation in South Africa. In 2003 the operation generated $6.5 million of sales to external customers, almost entirely in South Africa, but operated at a loss, according to the company. Prestolite said it expects to retain little, if any, of its sales to customers in South Africa.
Although Prestolite has not yet announced its financial results for 2003, the company said it expects to report $195 million of sales in 2003 (including those in South Africa), an increase of 17 percent from 2002.
In May 2003, Prestolite Electric announced that it had retained CIBC World Markets Corp. to assist in the potential sale of the company. Those efforts are ongoing.
Prestolite Electric is the operating subsidiary of Prestolite Electric Holding. Prestolite Electric is a global manufacturer and distributor of alternators and starter motors. These are supplied under the Prestolite Electric, Leece-Neville, and Indiel brand names for original equipment and aftermarket applications on a variety of vehicles and industrial equipment. Genstar Capital, ULC controls 97.5 percent of the outstanding shares, and management owns the balance.
To learn more about Prestolite, visit: www.prestolite.com.
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