Ashok Minda Group buys Sylea Auto from French giant Valeo

New Delhi: Ashok Minda Group (AMG), a Rs 150 crore auto ancillary major, has announced the acquisition of Sylea Automotive (India) Ltd from Valeo, ranked among the world's top 10 automotive component suppliers with a turnover of more than $10 billion.

With this acquisition, AMG has now taken full control of all the five manufacturing facilities of Sylea across India. The acquisition now enables AMG to significantly expand its operations to newer segments in wiring harness business. The takeover will boost the group turnover from Rs 150 crore currently to Rs 200 crore.

Says AMG group managing director Ashok Minda: "After gaining a strong foothold in the two-wheeler market in wiring harness, we wanted to strengthen our presence in the ever-expanding four-wheeler segment. The acquisition provides us with an opportunity to make significant inroads into this segment. We intend to leverage the large OEM customer base of Sylea, its national footprint, its additional economies and the superior technical support to effectively expand our existing operations and tap newer segments."

With the acquisition of Sylea's manufacturing facilities in Mumbai, Chennai, Pithampur, Daman and Pondicherry, AMG will have significant advantage of catering to the needs of manufacturers in each region. In addition, the set-ups at each plant can be modified to cater to respective client requirements, providing a great deal of flexibility in competing with other key players in the market.

Says Jean Noel Leung Kwing Chung, Valeo representative and joint managing director of Sylea Automotive: "The sellout of Sylea to AMG is a part of Valeo's global restructuring drive. Valeo will, however, continue to provide technological support to the Indian set-up and has also agreed in principle to source products for its global clientele by outsourcing from India."

AMG is an auto ancillary industry major, which has currently in its fold three companies: Minda Huf, Minda Wirelinks and Minda Instruments. They are engaged in automotive locks and security systems, wiring harnesses and instruments, respectively.