Shareholders of AKASOL AG, Darmstadt, Germany, have accepted the voluntary public takeover offer by ABBA BidCo AG, (previously Blitz F21-842 AG), c/o BorgWarner Europe GmbH, Mannheim, Germany, a subsidiary of BorgWarner Inc., Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States, after the extended acceptance period expired with an acceptance rate of 89.08 percent of the AKASOL shares outstanding. The minimum acceptance threshold of 50 percent plus one share was thus clearly exceeded. In the partnership with BorgWarner, AKASOL’s management team looks forward to approaching the next steps of the Company’s expansion with even more energy.
“Nearly four months ago, BorgWarner and AKASOL announced their joint plans for the future and the takeover offer. Now we have reached a significant milestone with the completion of the offer. We members of the Management Board of AKASOL consider the high acceptance rate to be a sign that the offer to AKASOL shareholders was made at a reasonable price. We are looking forward to now beginning our cooperation with BorgWarner in the new shareholder structure. We will develop a sustainable strategy to seek to realize AKASOL’s growth potential in Europe, North and South America,” said Sven Schulz, CEO of AKASOL AG.
“With BorgWarner as a strong partner on our side, we believe AKASOL is well positioned to successfully realize the dynamic growth that we expect as our expansion course continues to gain momentum. For the current year, we can look back on a good first quarter. As announced on Monday, AKASOL was able to triple Q1 revenues compared to 2020 to EUR 24 million and achieved a positive EBITDA. For the full year, we consider an increase in revenue of up to 50% compared to 2020 as possible,” added Carsten Bovenschen, CFO of AKASOL AG.
The acquisition further strengthens BorgWarner’s commercial vehicle and industrial electrification capabilities, which positions the Company to capitalize on what it believes to be a fast-growing battery pack market.
“We are excited to add AKASOL’s innovative products, capabilities and team to BorgWarner as we advance our plan to grow our electric vehicle businesses to approximately 45% of total revenues by 2030 under Project Charging Forward,” said Frédéric Lissalde, President and CEO of BorgWarner. “Our companies share a commitment to delivering innovative, environmentally friendly solutions to our global customers, and together, we’ll be even better positioned to do just that.”
AKASOL is now a majority-owned subsidiary of BorgWarner. AKASOL’s headquarters are in Darmstadt, Germany, and as previously announced, AKASOL will be run independently. Subject to approval of the shareholders at the AKASOL annual general meeting on June 30, 2021, BorgWarner expects to be represented with three of the five members of AKASOL’s Supervisory Board. BorgWarner will assess what additional actions, if any, it will take to achieve full control and ownership of AKASOL including, without limitation, the delisting of AKASOL’s shares.
BorgWarner paid approximately €648 million to settle the tender offer from current cash balances, which includes proceeds received from its previously announced public offering of BorgWarner 1.00% Senior Notes due 2031. The Company plans to provide the estimated financial impact of the acquisition when it reports second quarter earnings on August 4, 2021. It is currently expected that AKASOL will be included in BorgWarner’s Air Management reporting segment.