ZF withdraws offer in Haldex acquisition

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Updated Oct 6, 2016

ZF (ZF) Friedrichshafen AG, said Wednesday the company has withdrawn its bid to acquire Swedish brake company Haldex.

ZF had offered $516 million in August to purchase Haldex AB just weeks after SAF-Holland made a similar advance. Knorr-Bremse upped the ante to $570 million last month.

As of Oct. 3, ZF’s offer had been accepted by almost 10 percent of the Haldex’s shareholders. ZF’s offer was contingent on a 90-plus percent acceptance, but all hopes on a collaborative effort between the two company’s is not lost.

“We look forward to constructive talks with the other shareholders of Haldex over the future development of the company,” says ZF CEO Dr Stefan Sommer. “We will stay true to our Strategy 2025. To meet future megatrends of the industry, we will continue to invest in and expand ZF’s diverse product portfolio. However, we do not depend on any single acquisition to achieve those aims.”

With total a shareholding in Haldex of 21.67 percent, ZF is the larggest shareholder in Haldex.

Jason Cannon has written about trucking and transportation for more than a decade and serves as Chief Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. A Class A CDL holder, Jason is a graduate of the Porsche Sport Driving School, an honorary Duckmaster at The Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee, and a purple belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Reach him at [email protected]