Siemens secures buyer for Mannesmann Sachs units

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (Aug. 6)—Transmission and chassis systems supplier ZF Friedrichshafen A.G. has agreed to buy powertrain and chassis components maker Mannesmann Sachs A.G., including the rubber-metal bonding specialist Mannesmann Boge GmbH, from Siemens A.G. The parties did not disclose financial details of the transaction, but European business media reported the deal to be worth more than $1.3 billion. Mannesmann Sachs comprises four divisionsùpowertrain, chassis, rubber-metal (Boge) and Sachs Handel, a trading business. Among Sachs' better known products are clutches, torque converters and shock absorbers. Sachs, founded in 1895, has 54 locations worldwide and reported nearly $1.9 billion in sales in fiscal 2000. Boge, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, reported $231 million in sales last year with 2,000 employees at eight plants and eight sales offices globally, including plants in Paris, Ill., and El Salto, Mexico, and a research and development center in Farmington Hills, Mich. "Sachs isàan excellent reinforcement in product segments relevant for ZF," said Siegfried Goll, chairman of the board and CEO. "ZF Group is reaching a new order of magnitude with this acquisition." Siemens took over Mannesmann Sachs last year when it joined forces with Robert Bosch GmbH to buy the Mannesmann Atecs industrial business from UK mobile phone group Vodafone P.L.C.