Dürr acquires outstanding shares in Italian subsidiary CPM
The Dürr Group acquired the remaining 49 percent of the shares in its Italian subsidiary CPM S.p.A., thus increasing its shareholding to 100 percent as of December 31, 2022.
CPM S.p.A., based in Turin, specializes in turnkey final assembly lines for the automotive industry. CPM was founded in 1967 and has been part of the Dürr Group since January 1, 1999. CPM generated sales of around € 100 million in fiscal 2022 and employs around 90 people. The sold company shares were previously owned by the founding Bellezza family, which is now retiring due to age. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price for the newly acquired shares. The increase in the stake is part of Dürr's NEXT.assembly strategy, under which the Group has combined all activities in automotive final assembly technology in its Paint and Final Assembly Systems division. This is intended to realize significant growth potential in the coming years. CPM will play an even more important role in the future as a competence center for turnkey final assembly projects. Dr. Jochen Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr AG: "By acquiring all shares in CPM, we are taking a logical entrepreneurial step. Our Italian subsidiary is an important part of the Dürr Group in both technical and economic terms. CPM is a proven specialist in the field of final assembly technology and stands out above all for its high-quality and innovative technology in the systems business."
With its NEXT.assembly strategy, the Dürr Group has improved customer support and marketing of the product range in final assembly technology, and CPM has a special role to play: the Italian Dürr subsidiary bears overall responsibility for turnkey projects. According to the company, the NEXT.assembly concept has been very well received by customers: the construction of assembly lines for e-cars has resulted in plants with a high degree of automation and a novel layout for various manufacturers. Among other things, CPM presented an innovative Automated Guided Vehicle. This driverless transport system for car bodies provides flexibility in final assembly. A large part of the purchase price for the shares in CPM was already paid at the end of 2022. As a result of the cash outflow, net financial debt is expected to increase at the end of the year, but the forecast range of between €-75 million and €-125 million remains unchanged. The exact value of net financial debt will be published when the preliminary fiscal year figures are announced on February 23, 2023. At the end of September 2022, the net financial position was € -55.4 million. By contrast, the share acquisition will have no impact on free cash flow.