TROY, Mich.— Dayco Products L.L.C. said it has acquired bankrupt Southfield, Mich.-based automotive damper manufacturer Metavation L.L.C. and assets from Eptec SA de CV.
Dayco, the stalking horse bidder in a bankruptcy auction process, acquired the assets for $25.1 million, according to a filing in bankruptcy court.
The deal provides Troy-based Dayco with Metavation's office space in Southfield, its research and development center in Hillsdale, Mich., and plants in Mount Pleasant, Mich., Vassar, Mich., and Hillsdale.
It also acquired Eptec's damper operation in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as part of the bid.
In August 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor filed suit against Metavation and George Hofmeister, Metavation's former chairman and director, to restore $34.6 million to two pension funds.
According to the suit, Hofmeister, on behalf of the plans, used pension assets to buy and lease property; buy customer notes and pay adviser fees; and allocate income and expense payments between the pension funds. The suit alleges the defendants engaged in prohibited use of approximately $12.1 million from the Hillsdale Salaried Pension Plan and approximately $22.5 million from the Hillsdale Hourly Pension Plan.
Hofmeister is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Labor.
Revstone Industries, the former parent of Metavation, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Dec. 3, 2012, after a Grand Traverse County 13th Circuit Court judge ordered the company to pay nearly $27 million owed to its largest creditor, Clearwater, Fla.-based Boston Finance Group L.L.C.
Creditors in the Revstone Industries case accuse Hofmeister of shuffling assets from company to company and through several trusts to avoid paying debts.
The federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. announced plans in March to take over the pension plans ahead of the proposed sale of Metavation to Delaware-based DHJH Holdings L.L.C.
That deal fell through, and Metavation entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July.