Adient (ADNT) to Terminate Yanfeng JV in China in $1.5B Deal
Adient PLC ADNT recently announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with its joint venture (JV) partner Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Ltd. (YF) to terminate its Yanfeng Adient Seating Co (YFAS) JV in China.
Per the agreement, Adient will sell 49.99% interest in YFAS to YF for $1.5 billion in cash in order to pursue its endeavors in China independently.
In turn, Adient will acquire YFAS's 50% equity interest in Chongqing Yanfeng Adient Automotive Components (CQYFAS) and 100% equity interest in Yanfeng Adient (Langfang) Seating (YFAS-LF).
Upon acquisition of YFAS's interests in CQYFAS and YFAS-LF, the company will consolidate those businesses. Moreover, YF will operate the remainder of YFAS as a wholly owned enterprise.
The transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. Adient is set to receive about $800 million cash, including dividends, by the time the deal closes and $700 million before year's end.
Proceeds from the transactions are expected to be utilized by Adient to pre-pay a portion of its debt and for general corporate purposes.
Benefits of the Deal
The deal upon closure will allow Adient to drive its strategy in China independently, which is expected to result in multiple benefits for the automotive seating company. The deal will help Adient to capitalize on growth in profitable segments and enhance the integration of the company's functioning in China, which is the world's largest automotive market. Additionally, proceeds from the transactions will provide immediate value to its stakeholders.
Adient, which operates in 32 countries, projects its China business to generate nearly $4.5 billion in annual consolidated and unconsolidated sales, after it has successfully closed the various transactions under this deal. This will enable the company to gain a dominant position in the China automotive market.
Once the transactions close, Adient’s global consolidated sales and Adjusted EBITDA are expected to increase annually in the range of $700-$800 million and $90-$100 million, respectively. Additionally, post closing of the transactions, net income and EPS improvement is anticipated, primarily owing to significant reduction in debt and the corresponding benefit of reduced borrowing costs.
Adient designs and manufactures seating systems and components for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and light trucks.
Adient, peers of which include Magna International MGA, Meritor MTOR and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings AXL, currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Notably, shares of the company have appreciated 36.5% year to date, compared with the industry’s growth of 1.5%.
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