Wiesbaden/Munich, November 24, 2017. SGL Carbon SE is
acquiring BMW Group’s 49% equity investment in the joint ventures SGL
Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH Co. KG (Germany) and SGL
Automotive Carbon Fibers LLC (US) – together referred to as ‘ SGL
ACF’. An agreement on this matter was signed by SGL Group and BMW
Group today. Once the deal has been completed, SGL Group will be the
sole owner of SGL ACF. As is customary, the transaction is subject to
approval from the respective authorities.
“We are proud of the pioneering work that we have carried out
with BMW Group on lightweight construction for the automotive sector.
The carbon fibers made at our plant in Moses Lake and the fabrics that
are produced from them at the Wackersdorf site have proven very
successful. It is now time to fully integrate this expertise into SGL
Group’s value chain,” says Jürgen Köhler, Chief Executive Officer
of SGL Group.
Carbon fibers and carbon fiber materials are at the core of SGL
Group’s corporate strategy. By acquiring SGL ACF now, SGL Group is
forging ahead with its strategy to consolidate all key activities in
the value chain – from carbon fibers and materials to components –
within the SGL Group, giving it overall responsibility. As announced
two weeks ago, BENTELER-SGL is being acquired for the same reason.
The changes in the shareholder structure of SGL ACF will not have any
direct impact on its workforce, which currently totals around 450 employees.
“BMW Group will continue to rely on lightweight construction and an
intelligent mix of materials, with carbon remaining a significant
component,” explains Markus Duesmann, member of the Board of
Management at BMW AG with responsibility for purchasing and supplier
network. Carbon will also play an important role in the BMW iNEXT,
which will set the benchmark for electric vehicles, autonomous
driving, connectivity, and lightweight construction from 2021. “SGL
Group is and will remain a major supplier and strategic partner in
this regard,” adds Duesmann.
BMW Group has entered into an agreement with SGL Group to continue to
work together on future projects involving the use of carbon.
The existing supply agreements for the continued procurement of
carbon products from SGL ACF for the BMW i3, the BMW i8 (fuel
consumption combined: 2.1 l/100 km [134.5 mpg imp]*; CO2 emissions
combined: 49.0 g/km*), and the BMW 7 series into the next decade are
unaffected by the transaction. Likewise, BMW Group’s CFRP-stacks
production unit in Wackersdorf will not be affected. Furthermore, the
transaction will not impact BMW AG’s 18.3% shareholding in SGL Carbon
SE. This equity investment is not up for disposal.
The agreement between SGL Group and BMW Group provides for the
acquisition of the two SGL ACF companies in stages. In the first step,
SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers GmbH Co. KG (Germany) will be
transferred to SGL Group. This transaction will probably be completed
in January 2018. The second step will involve SGL Automotive Carbon
Fibers LLC (US) being transferred to SGL Group, with this transaction
expected to be completed by the end of 2020 at the latest.
The SGL ACF joint venture was founded in 2009 with the aim of
establishing the use of carbon as a lightweight construction material
in the automotive industry and securing the supply of carbon fibers
and fabrics for BMW Group. Since then, SGL Group and BMW Group have
created a leading technological position in the field of carbon fiber
composites with their joint development activities and the
construction of two plants. The possibility of SGL Group acquiring BMW
Group’s shares was already agreed as an option back when the joint
venture was founded. Accordingly, 51% of the shares were allocated to
SGL Group and 49% to BMW Group at that time.
SGL ACF’s production activities take place in Moses Lake (Washington,
US) and Wackersdorf (Bavaria, Germany). Moses Lake is the world’s most
modern and environmentally friendly carbon fiber plant and produces
specific carbon fibers for serial production applications. The
acquisition gives SGL Group the opportunity to expand its activities
at the site relating to fibers and composites for the North American
market. At the Wackersdorf plant, carbon fibers are processed to
create fabrics and non-wovens. BMW Group uses these to produce
components, such as for the passenger cell of the i3 and i8, as well
as individual parts for the 7 series. At the site, SGL ACF also
operates equipment to recycle residual materials resulting from the
production process, thereby making a valuable contribution to
conserving resources and lowering costs in the carbon fiber reinforced
plastics process chain. In 2016, SGL ACF generated sales revenue of
around €90 million.
In the future, SGL ACF will be fully assigned to the Composites –
Fibers Materials (CFM) business unit. This unit of SGL Group has
strong development and production expertise in fibers – especially
acrylic fibers, oxidized fibers, and carbon fibers – and fiber
composites. In parallel, SGL Group is establishing a Lightweight and
Application Center (LAC) in Meitingen (Bavaria, Germany). At the LAC,
products and associated manufacturing processes are developed for
lightweight components that are suitable for volume production. In the
future, the former joint venture BENTELER-SGL will also belong to the
CFM business unit. The company is one of the leading developers and
large-scale producers of lightweight composite components (based on
fiberglass and carbon fibers) for the automotive industry. At the
start of November, SGL Group announced that it was acquiring the other
50% of this joint venture from Benteler (subject to approval from the
relevant authorities).
* Fuel consumption and CO2 figures were calculated based on the EU
test cycle.
Further information on official fuel consumption figures, specific
CO2 emission values and the electric power consumption of new
passenger cars is included in the following guideline: “Leitfaden über
Kraftstoffverbrauch, die CO2-Emissionen und den Stromverbrauch neuer
Personenkraftwagen” (Guideline for fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and
electric power consumption of new passenger cars), which can be
obtained from all dealerships, from Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH
(DAT), Hellmuth-Hirth-Str. 1, 73760 Ostfildern-Scharnhausen and at http://www.dat.de/en/offers/publications/guideline-for-fuel-consumption.html.
If you have any queries, please contact:
SGL Group Corporate Communications
Andreas Pütz
Tel. +49 611 6029-100
press@sglgroup.com
BMW Group Business and Finance Communications
Max-Morten Borgmann
Tel. +49 89 382 24118
max-morten.borgmann@bmwgroup.com
About the SGL Group – The Carbon Company
The SGL Group is a leading manufacturer worldwide of products and
materials made from carbon. The extensive product portfolio ranges
from carbon and graphite products, carbon fibers all the way through
to composites. The SGL Group’s core expertise comprises the control of
high-temperature technologies as well as the deployment of many years’
application and engineering know-how. This is used to exploit the
company’s wide materials base. These carbon-based materials combine a
number of unique material properties such as very good conductivity of
electricity and heat, resistance to heat and corrosion as well as
lightweight construction coupled with high firmness. The level of
demand for the SGL Group’s high-performance materials and products is
increasing due to the industrialization of the growth regions of Asia
and Latin America and the ongoing substitution of traditional
construction materials by new materials. The SGL Group’s products are
deployed in the automotive and chemicals industries as well as in the
semiconductor, solar, LED industry segments and in the field of
lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also
used in wind energy, aviation and space travel as well as in the
defense industry.
With 34 production locations in Europe, North America and Asia as
well as a service network in over 100 countries, the SGL Group is an
enterprise with a global orientation. In the 2016 financial year,
approx. 4,000 employees generated 769.8 million euros in sales
revenue. Its Head Office is based in Wiesbaden / Germany.
About the BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than
140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and
145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately
€ 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31
December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
Important note:
To the extent that our press release contains forward-looking
statements, the latter are based on information that is available at
present and on our current forecasts and assumptions. Forward-looking
statements, by their very nature, entail known as well as unknown
risks and uncertainties that may lead to actual developments and
events differing substantially from the forward-looking assessments.
Forward-looking statements must not be understood to be guarantees.
Instead, future developments and events depend on a large number of
factors; they comprise various risks and imponderables and are based
on assumptions that may possibly turn out not to be appropriate. These
include unforeseeable changes to fundamental political, economic,
legal and societal conditions, particularly in the context of our main
customers’ industries, such as electric steelmaking, the competitive
situation, interest and exchange rate trends, technological
developments as well as other risks and uncertainties. We perceive
additional risks e.g. in pricing developments, unforeseeable events in
the environment of companies acquired and Group member companies as
well as in current cost savings programs from time to time. The SGL
Group assumes no obligation and does not intend to adjust or otherwise
update these forward-looking statements either.