New details to Vitesco takeover by Schaeffler

Schaeffler has concluded an agreement on the planned merger with Vitesco Technologies. Vitesco shareholders have until mid-December to accept the improved offer. The company has already made an important personnel decision for the time after that.

As part of the planned takeover of the drive manufacturer announced in October, Schaeffler is increasing its offer from 91 to 94 euros per Vitesco share. The acceptance period will end on December 15, 2023. For shareholders who have been invested in Vitesco since the spin-off from Continental AG, this results in a premium of 57.2 per cent on the initial Vitesco share price of 59.80 euros on September 16, 2021 – with the previously offered 91 euros it was 52 per cent. Schaeffler itself had already increased its stake to 49.99 per cent last year.

While there will be no statement on the future organization in October, Schaeffler is now making it clear: Vitesco is to be absorbed into Schaeffler AG, based in Herzogenaurach. An “integration committee with equal representation” is to manage the integration process – comprising the CEOs, CFOs and HR directors of Schaeffler and Vitesco. “Under the leadership of the integration committee, both companies will develop a business plan for the combined company by mid-2024 at the latest,” says Schaeffler. The first meeting has been announced for this year. The combined company is to offer a seamless product portfolio, particularly in the field of electrification, and thus exploit the accelerated growth potential of electric mobility.

It has been agreed that the E-Mobility division will be managed by Thomas Stierle, who previously headed the Vitesco Electrification division. This personnel decision is important for the course of the division. Stierle will then also be a member of the future nine-member Group Executive Board. In addition to Schaeffler CEO Klaus Rosenfeld, the four “functional board members” CFO, CHRO, CTO and COO as well as the CEOs of the four divisions will also sit on the board.

“At Schaeffler, we are fully convinced that both companies ideally complement each other and will thus be stronger together,” says Rosenfeld. “We are pleased that, after intense and, in part, for both sides challenging discussions, we came to a business combination agreement, which now lays the ground for a swift and effective integration.”

According to Schaeffler, the combined company will have pro forma annual sales of around 25 billion euros and employ more than 120,000 people. Schaeffler continues to expect the merger to offer significant synergy potential with an expected EBIT effect of 600 million euros annually, which is expected to be fully achieved in 2029.

schaeffler.com