Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. (together with its affiliates,
“Clearlake”) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of
Futuris Automotive (“Futuris”) from Elders Limited (ASX:ELD). The
transaction was first announced on July 31, 2013. Clearlake also
announced that Clearlake Operating Advisor and automotive industry
veteran Mervin Dunn has joined the Futuris board of directors as
Co-Chairman.
Established in 1967, Futuris Automotive is a leading global Tier 1
automotive supplier that designs, engineers and manufactures seating and
interior systems for leading global OEMs. Key automotive solutions
include seating systems and hardware, interior products such as door
trims, headliners, and floor carpets, and various aftermarket services.
Futuris has design and engineering centers in Australia, China and the
U.S.A. and state of the art manufacturing facilities in Australia,
China, Thailand and the U.S.A. Select global OEM customers include GM,
Ford, Toyota, SAIC, Chery, JAC, Brilliance and Tesla. Futuris will
remain headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Mark De Wit will
continue to lead Futuris as Managing Director.
Mr. Dunn said, "Futuris has world-class design and manufacturing
capabilities and will greatly benefit from Clearlake's sponsorship and
the ability to seek new business opportunities in the global automotive
and commercial vehicle market. We plan to focus on enhancing Futuris'
product portfolio and geographic expansion strategy to take advantage of
favorable trends in the automotive market in Asia and other geographies."
Mr. Dunn, 59, most recently served as President and CEO of Commercial
Vehicle Group Inc., and prior to that, as President of Trim Systems,
Inc. He has also held senior leadership positions at Bliss Technologies,
Arvin Industries, and Johnson Controls Automotive Group. Mr. Dunn
currently serves on the board of directors of Transdigm Group Inc.
(NYSE:TDG) and HealthSpot, and previously served on the Commercial
Vehicle Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGI) board. He holds a B.S. degree in
Mechanical Design and a M.S. in Operations Management from Eastern
Kentucky University.
“This is an exciting time for Futuris,” said José E. Feliciano, a
founding partner at Clearlake and newly appointed Co-Chairman of the
Futuris board of directors. “As an independent company with top tier
customers, talented management and substantial financial backing, we
believe Futuris is poised for strong growth – both organically and
through selected acquisitions where we see a great fit for Futuris’
culture of excellence and innovation.”
“Futuris has worked hard to build its reputation for complete seating
and interior solutions and outstanding automotive products,” said Mr. De
Wit. “With Clearlake’s backing, and with the help of industry leaders
like Merv, we are very excited to take our products and business to new
markets, as we seek to provide the very best seating and interior
systems and components to our global customers and ultimately to
consumers.”
In addition to Messrs. Feliciano and Dunn, Colin Leonard, Vice President
at Clearlake, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
About Futuris
Futuris Automotive is a leading global automotive component supplier.
Futuris designs, engineers and manufactures automotive seating and
interior systems for a range of the world’s top vehicle producers
including GM, Ford, Toyota SAIC, Chery, JAC, Brilliance and Tesla.
Futuris has design and engineering centers in Australia, China and the
U.S.A. and state of the art manufacturing facilities in Australia,
China, Thailand and the U.S.A. Futuris is focused on growth in its
existing markets along with maximizing its opportunities in new emerging
markets. For more information, please visit www.futurisautomotive.com.
About Clearlake Capital Group
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private investment firm focused on
special situations and private equity investments such as corporate
divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, reorganizations, turnarounds
and other equity investments. Clearlake seeks to partner with
world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital and
operational expertise to invest in dynamic businesses. Clearlake
currently manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital, and
Clearlake’s founding principals have led over 70 investments totaling
more than $3 billion of capital in sectors including automotive,
business services, consumer products/retail, defense/public safety,
energy/power, industrials, and technology. For more information, please
visit www.clearlakecapital.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2013