Sona Autocomp Holdings, led by Sunjay J Kapur, has entered into an agreement with its longstanding technical and financial collaborator JTEKT Corporation to sell its entire stake 25.12 percent in Sona Koyo Steering Systems (SKSSL) for Rs 419 crore. The deal values SKSSL at an enterprise value of Rs 1,922 crore.
SKSSL, which manufactures steering systems for passenger cars and utility vehicles, supplies steering assemblies to Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda, Renault Nissan and Ford. Sunjay J Kapur and Sona Group nominee directors, Mrs Rani Kapur and Kiran Deshmukh will step down from the board of SKSSL upon closure of the transaction.
This is the first strategic transaction announced by the Sona Group after Sunjay J Kapur took over the reins of the Rs 5,000 crore Sona Group after the demise of its founder Dr Surinder Kapur in 2015. In the past few months, the Group has announced customer acquisitions in the electric vehicle space and opening of new facilities to strengthen the manufacturing capabilities of Sona BLW Precision Forgings.
Commenting on the latest company move, Sunjay Kapur said “We are delighted to complete a win-win deal for all parties – Sona, JTEKT, our customers and our employees. We are particularly happy that Sona Koyo Steering Systems will now become a part of the largest steering system company in the world. We truly believe that JTEKT has great plans to integrate our plants and employees into their global network, and bring global scale to our company. This transaction is a step in a transformational phase in Sona's journey and now it allows us to focus our attention, investments and energies in our fast growing precision forgings business where we own the technology and have the potential to claim global market leadership.”