The Northville Township building can house around 400 employees. Workers will begin moving into the new office after the acquisition closes.
"In Southeast Michigan, we have a large presence, and we'll continue to," Blow said. "Being in the heart of the automotive industry obviously makes sense."
Tenneco has around 3,500 employees in Michigan, spread throughout offices and plants in Southfield, Plymouth Township, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grass Lake, Marshall, Litchfield, Greenville and Sparta. The company has around 200 employees in Illinois, where it will keep its regional base for its motor parts division.
The company does not plan to consolidate any locations as a result of the new headquarters building, which will house executives, global services, finances and communication functions for the powertrain and emissions systems business. Its aftermarket division will continue to be housed in Southfield.
Tenneco's deal to go private marks the end of a long public run for the auto parts supplier that peaked with the $5.4 billion acquisition of Southfield-based Federal-Mogul Corp. and hit a low point shortly after board and investor divisions doomed a plan to split the company in two.
The second time seems like it will be the charm for Apollo, which unsuccessfully bid $4.3 billion for Tenneco's powertrain unit nearly three years ago. The deal this time around includes $1.6 billion in equity, with an enterprise value of $7.1 billion.
The supplier has had plenty of financial ups and downs over the decades and has struggled under the debt load from its Federal-Mogul purchase.
It reported Monday a net loss of $44 million for the third quarter. Revenue was up 14 percent year-over year to $4.9 billion, while adjusted EBITDA increased 8 percent to $301 million.
