West Wales car parts maker Calsonic Kansei has been bought out.
The subsidiary of Nissan has been acquired by US firm of KKR & Co. in a deal said to be worth about £3.61 Billion.
It beat out rival private equity firms Bain Capital and MBK Partners, which, according to Thomson Reuters LPC, had bid to buy Nissan’s stake. Japan’s second-biggest automaker opened the auction to sell the stake in June as part of the parent car-maker’s plan to divest businesses to generate income for core projects.
The deal comes as Nissan is looking for ways to use cash in other areas such as development of new technologies including next generation electric cars and automated driving functions. Nissan also bought a controlling stake in embattled Mitsubishi Motors Corp. earlier this year.
Calsonic Kansei, relies for about 80 percent of its global sales on Nissan but it has been stepping up work for Renault, which owns 44% of Nissan, as well as Isuzu Motors, among others.
The Llanelli plant has been operating since 1943 and makes radiators, heat exchangers and fans but also has Technology Centre and is home to vehicle and system test facilities, including a climatic wind tunnel and acoustic lab. It’s the company’s European headquarters and employs approximately 500 people.
Two other plants in the North East of England supply Nissan Sunderland and together employ about 800 staff.