BorgWarner Inc. agreed to buy Remy International Inc. for $951 million in cash, on a bet the world’s auto makers are looking to wring more power from the electrical veins of their vehicles.
BorgWarner will pay $29.50 a share, a 44 percent premium from Remy’s closing price on Friday. The price indicates an enterprise value of about $1.2 billion, BorgWarner said.
Remy’s “products and capabilities will strengthen BorgWarner’s position in the rapidly developing powertrain electrification trend,” BorgWarner CEO James Verrier said in a statement.
Demand for fuel-saving technology and global scale is pushing auto-parts makers to consolidate. In May, TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. was acquired by German auto supplier ZF Friedrichshafen AG for $12.4 billion.
Turbochargers, a key product for BorgWarner, compress air to maximize the power an engine produces. Automakers, forced by governments in the U.S., Europe and Asia to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, are turning to smaller, lighter engines which are using turbos to give buyers the power and acceleration they still want.
Buying Remy will add alternators, starters and hybrid motors, giving BorgWarner the ability to benefit as more powertrains blend electric power with traditional gasoline-fueled technology.
