LKQ Corp (NASDAQ:LKQ) has announced plans to buy Germany’s spare parts for passenger cars, tools, capital equipment and accessories distributor Stahlgruber Otto Gruber AG for an enterprise value of around €1.5bn (US$1.77bn).
In a statement on Monday, the auto-parts company said it will fund the deal from planned debt offerings, borrowings under its current credit facility and direct issuance of 8.06 million newly issued LKQ shares to Stahlgruber's owner.
Leading pan-European aftermarket parts distributor
The acquisition is expected to close late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter.
"Stahlgruber will create a contiguous footprint and serve as an additional strategic hub for our European operations, allowing for continued improvement in procurement, logistics and infrastructure optimization," said LKQ chief executive John Quinn.
Stahlgruber has operations in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia with further sales to Switzerland.
Its facilities include 228 sales centers, six warehouses, and an advanced logistics center in Germany, serving more than 100,000 professional clients and offering over 500,000 SKUs.
“This transformative acquisition solidifies LKQ as a leading Pan-European aftermarket mechanical parts distributor, and further enhances our global diversification strategy,” stated Dominick Zarcone, president and chief executive officer of LKQ Corporation.
