Private equity firm 3i Group PLC of London said it has bought a majority stake in Hilite International Inc., a Cleveland maker of fuel-efficient auto parts.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Dow Jones Newswires and Reuters both reported that the deal was worth about $300 million.
A Hilite representative who answered the phone this morning at the company’s Key Tower headquarters said the company does not do media interviews and would not comment on the transaction.Hilite last year brought in investment banking firm Lazard Ltd. to find a buyer for the business after emerging from bankruptcy in late 2009 under the control of creditors, Reuters reported last December.Hilite has six manufacturing plants in North America, Europe and Asia. In the United States, it has plants in Whitehall, Mich., and Carrollton, Texas. It has a sales office in Auburn Hills, Mich. The downtown Cleveland headquarters is its only operation in Ohio, according to Hilite’s web site.The company operates in what 3i called a high-growth segment of the global automotive market the manufacturing of hydraulic actuators and timing systems that improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions.3i said Hilite’s products are used in the engines, transmissions and exhaust systems of passenger and commercial vehicles. Among Hilite’s key customers are Volkswagen, Daimler, General Motors, Chrysler and BMW. Hilite in 2010 generated revenues of $400 million.The company’s growth will be driven by global trends in fuel efficiency and emissions reduction, 3i said in a news release.”Hilite is at the cutting edge of fuel efficiency and emissions controls technology,” said Ulf von Haacke, partner and managing director of 3i Germany, in a statement. Hilite will join other automotive and industrial businesses, such as Trescal, MoldMasters and Stork Materials Technology, in 3i’s portfolio. The firm said it makes private equity investments in growing middle-market companies that can benefit from access to an international business network.3i said Hilite’s product portfolio consists of three groups:
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