Altran acquires Benteler Engineering, boosts automotive capacity
Altran has acquired Benteler Engineering for an undisclosed sum. The deal sees around 700 engineering staff transfer to Altran’s Germany-based organisation, considerably boosting its capacity in key prototyping in the automotive industry as well as access to a wide network of automotive blue-chip OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers.
In 2001, Benteler Engineering was acquired by Benteler Automotive, a subsidiary of the in 1876 founded Benteler-group. The acquisition of the company, which previously was the Product Development and Engineering Department (PDE Automotive) of NedCar, added to the firm's capability of creating new designs, from the project definition process to engineering, prototyping and testing, to final transfer to series production. The company, which is headquartered in Munch, Germany, operates primarily in the DACH region, with further outposts in the Netherlands and Sweden. Around 700 people work at the firm, whose focus is primarily on the automotive industry with key customer base of blue-chip OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, Ford, Porsche and Daimler.
Altran, following customary closing conditions, will full acquire Benteler Engineering. The deal provides a considerable boost to the company in the automotive design and engineering space across the full gamut of engineering services, including key management processes like project management, quality management and product data management. The firm expects to leverage a range of synergies to facilitate more prototyping across key automotive areas, such as Electrical and Electronic (E/E), Electrification, Exterior & Interior Body and Chassis, while boosting Benteler Engineering’s scalability.
The addition also provides the firm with additional capacity through which to meet its own 'Altran 2020. Ignition' goals of hitting revenues of €3 billion by 2020. Deloitte provided financial, tax and legal due diligence for the deal, while legal services were provided by Dentons.
Dominique Cerutti, Chairman & CEO of Altran, says he is “very happy”with the acquisition, adding that the deal is fully aligned with the firm's Altran 2020. Ignition strategic plan. "Germany is a priority market for Altran, and this acquisition marks the beginning of the investment phase of our turnaround plan. Benteler Engineering will help us further structure and develop our activities locally. In a highly competitive German automotive market, this acquisition is a 2 major strategic and operational accelerator for us and will allow to continue to serve our existing clients and partner with new ones.”
Boris Gleißner, Co-Chairman and CFO of Benteler, comments, “With this sale we will focus on our strategic core business within the fields of automotive, steel/tube and distribution. At the same time, we will continue to invest in innovative products and solutions in order to be the preferred partner for our customers worldwide."
In the months to come Benteler and Altran will work on integration plans for the joint operations in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Recent acquisitions
The new addition builds on earlier acquisitions, including merging US-based product innovation firm Synape into its Cambridge Consultants subsidiary and the acquisition of software engineering firm Lohika. The firm also recently launched a specialist engineering and consultancy practice: Altran Consulting.