Magna sells automotive interiors arm for $525M

Magna International has agreed to sell its interiors operations for about $525 million (U.S.) to Spanish auto parts manufacturer Grupo Antolin.

The transaction, involving the production of doors, seats and lighting, includes 36 manufacturing operations and approximately 12,000 employees located in Europe, North America and Asia.

That deal represents about a tenth of Magna’s global workforce and about $2.4 billion in annual sales. The acquisition will nearly double Antolin’s workforce and revenue compared with last year, after the deal gets the necessary approvals.

“We are very proud with this operation because we have found a very complementary business that fits perfectly well with ours,” said Antolin executive chair Ernesto Antolin.

Magna says the deal is part of its strategy to refine its lineup to focus on key areas of automotive vehicles.

“We are confident that Grupo Antolin will continue to serve our interiors customers and provide to our interiors employees a solid foundation for the future,” Magna chief executive Don Walker said in a statement Thursday.

Based in Aurora, Ont., Magna is Canada’s largest auto parts company and among the largest in the world.

It has 313 manufacturing operations and 84 product development, engineering and sales centres in 28 countries. In total, it employs 131,000 people and generated $36.6 billion in sales last year.

Antolin has about 14,800 employees and a presence in 25 countries. It announced Thursday a 2014 annual revenue of € 2.2 billion, or about $2.38 billion (U.S.).