Delphi to acquire HellermannTyton for $1.85 billion

Strengthening its capabilities and portfolio offerings in key industry growth areas, Delphi Automotive has executed a series of acquisitions, investments and a divestiture.

Delphi has reached agreement on a recommended offer to acquire HellermannTyton Group PLC a leading global manufacturer of high-performance and innovative cable management solutions, for an estimated $1.85 billion.

The transaction has been recommended by the board of HellermannTyton and is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of 2015. Upon completion, HellermannTyton will become part of Delphi’s Electrical/Electronic Architecture segment.

The acquisition expands Delphi’s product portfolio within the connected vehicle solutions market and will help capitalise on the connected car megatrend. It also further strengthens Delphi’s leading position in the electrical architecture market, while providing a platform to grow in HellermannTyton’s adjacent industrial end markets, including aerospace, defense, alternative energy and mass transit.

“With consumers now demanding more connectivity in their vehicles, electrical architecture is the enabler to that added vehicle content,” said Kevin Clark, Delphi president and chief executive officer. “HellermannTyton positions Delphi to provide customers with an even broader portfolio of highly engineered and customized connection systems and cable management solutions. By leveraging the combined capabilities of both companies, we will be able to capitalize on additional growth opportunities and create significant value for our customers and shareholders.”

Some of the strategic and financial benefits that will accrue from this acquisition are it extends Delphi’s leadership in electrical architecture components. HellermannTyton has a leading market position in providing cable management solutions in the vehicle and has an extensive range of products that are mission-critical in nature and are highly engineered to customer specification.

The acquisition of HellermannTyton will enhance Delphi’s strong relationships with key global automakers and will provide access to HellermannTyton’s non-automotive end markets.

To enhance its active safety and automated driving capabilities, Delphi has also acquired software company, Ottomatika, and has made a strategic investment in 3D LiDAR sensing leader, Quanergy. These strategic moves strengthen Delphi’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) applications and could help speed the adoption of automated vehicles. The ability to detect objects and execute digital mapping, surface modelling and distant imaging is enabled by the use of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanners. 

By combining Ottomatika’s automated driving software with Delphi’s active safety systems, the two companies have developed a technology platform for automated driving that enables a vehicle to make human-like decisions. 

Quanergy and Delphi will collaborate to bring a range of low-cost, high-performance solid state LiDAR products to the automotive market to provide a complete vehicle perception solution for Level 3 and 4 automation applications. The prospect of a lower-cost ADAS solution could bring widespread adoption of the life-saving active safety technology. 

Delphi has also made a minority investment in Tula Technology, which develops software that provides cost-efficient, fuel economy gains in cylinder deactivation technology. Delphi and Tula’s engine control system software can increase fuel efficiency and cut emissions without sacrificing drivability or performance. The combined solution will allow the engine’s cylinders to fire or skip (deactivate) on a continuously variable basis, which ultimately increases fuel efficiency by up to 15 percent in a cost-efficient manner.

“These companies bring unique and strategic capabilities in software and sensing technology, strengthening our portfolio in active safety and fuel economy, two critical long-term growth areas for the automotive market,” said Jeff Owens, Delphi chief technology officer.  “We have had strong working relationships with these companies and believe the synergies are excellent. We continue to explore additional acquisition and investment opportunities that will enhance our growth in our core safe, green and connected areas of focus.”

Additionally, Delphi has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its reception systems business, which consists of automotive antennas and in-vehicle TV tuners, to Northeast Industries Group Corp, a leading Chinese automotive supplier. Delphi expects to complete the sale in the third quarter of 2015, subject to regulatory approval.