ZF Friedrichshafen issues draft offer to acquire 25% shares in Wabco India

German company ZF Friedrichshafen AG along with related firms, has issued a draft offer letter for the open offer to acquire a 25 per cent stake in auto component maker Wabco India, by acquiring 4.74 million equity shares from public shareholders. The open offer was triggered after the German company acquired US-based Wabco Holdings, and the offer price is Rs 7,067.51 per offer share, totalling Rs 3351.34 crore.

Both the German company and Wabco US have highly complementary and innovative technology offerings to address future demand for advanced mobility in the area of commercial vehicles. Besides, the merger will strengthen the combined companies' presence in the emerging markets, which are strategically important in the long run.

The shares of Wabco India will be acquired by ZF Friedrichshafen, along with Wabco Asia Pvt Ltd, LucasVarity and ZF International UK Ltd. Wabco Holdings Inc and ZF Friedrichshafen AG last month announced that they had received regulatory clearance from Chinese State Administration for the merger.

Wabco India, which is part of Wabco Holdings and a supplier for the commercial vehicle industry, said that all required regulatory approvals had been received and Wabco and ZF were expecting to close the merger on May 29, 2020, subject to the fulfilment of all other conditions. The transaction has already received the approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), according to reports.
 

There are also reports that the German firm is a shareholder in TVS Group firm Breaks India and may exit from the company after acquiring Wabco India shares.