By DPA
Essen (Germany) : India’s Sona Group has bought a major German forgings business that supplies parts to the automotive industry, Germany’s biggest steel group ThyssenKrupp said Monday.
The unit, Praezisionsschmiede, has plants in the German cities of Remscheid, Duisburg and Munich with a total payroll of 1,630 and a US subsidiary, Precision Forge, with 130 employees.
Essen-based ThyssenKrupp has been selling off non-core businesses which supply the car industry and were originally acquired as the expanding group took over major customers of steel.
A ThyssenKrupp spokeswoman said the firm understood that the Indian company was developing a worldwide forgings business. Sona specializes in the manufacture of automotive steering systems and other mainly forged parts.
The spokeswoman said both sides had agreed to keep financial aspects confidential. The transaction is to be completed at the end of this month.
She added that ThyssenKrupp was not currently aiming at selling its own steering systems unit, Presta Steering. She said “various options” had been studied and there had been talks with potential buyers, but the sale plans for Presta had been called off.