On April 10, foreign media reported that the global auto parts giant Webast acquired the entire South Korean joint venture Webast Donghee for 100 million euros (equivalent to 757 million yuan), becoming the largest acquisition in its history. .
Webast Donghee was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea, focusing on the production and sales of panoramic roofs. In South Korea, China and Slovakia operate a total of five factories with a total of about 900 employees. Upon completion of the acquisition, the company will operate under Webast Korea Holdings, Ltd.
Insiders believe that through this transaction, Webast is expanding its core business in Asia and will be closer to its core Asian customer-Hyundai Kia.
Hyundai Kia is a major customer of Webast. The pure electrification of automobiles has become a global development trend, and Hyundai Kia is also actively planning. Therefore, Webast hopes to be able to match the rhythm of Hyundai Kia and provide it with a complete battery system, charging solution and electric heating system in the future.
Gaogong Lithium (WeChat public number: weixin-gg-lb) combing its layout can be found that Weibasite uses its own accumulation and precipitation in the sunroof of traditional vehicles, and mainly targets the power battery system PACK and charging in the field of electric vehicles. System services in two parts.
In terms of PACK, Webast mainly provides system solutions including battery cells, battery thermal management systems, and high-voltage electric heaters.
In terms of charging, Webast mainly provides charging solutions and electric heating systems.
Preliminary arrangement, the initial appearance of Webast electric market layout:
In March 2018, Webast and Samsung SDI signed a letter of intent for cooperation at the headquarters in Munich, and planned to cooperate in the field of commercial vehicle high-voltage power battery manufacturing. According to the agreement, Samsung SDI is responsible for the development and supply of battery modules, and Webast is responsible for the powertrain.
On April 3, 2018, Webast held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new plant and a signing ceremony for a new energy power battery system R & D center in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China. The project plans to build an annual production capacity of 1.5 million sets of automotive sunroofs and 60,000 sets of power battery packs. It is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2019.
On June 8, 2018, Webast acquired AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy System (EES) business unit for a $ 35 million agreement.
“This strategic acquisition accelerates the global development of our charging service solutions business. EES has important technical capabilities in electric vehicles, and we are an innovative system partner for almost all OEMs around the world. This acquisition can promote Viagra The long-term strategic development of the Esther Group. “Dr. Ingerman said.
In November 2018, Webast signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Wanxiang One Two Three. The two parties plan to cooperate in the field of commercial vehicle power battery R & D and manufacturing.
According to the agreement, Wanxiang One Two Three will supply the latest generation of battery modules to Webster’s platform-based commercial vehicle power battery system. The battery module uses ternary lithium batteries. Webster will rely on structural design and system integration. The accumulated professional experience in thermal management provides reliable solutions for power battery systems.
The acquisition of the joint venture in South Korea is fully included in the acquisition, and once again shows the determination of Webast to be optimistic about the electric vehicle market. Dr. Ingerman revealed to the media that due to the high logistics costs of heavy batteries and panoramic roofs, Webast will be produced close to the car manufacturing center. The acquisition price of the joint venture is 100 million euros, but Webster expects that the new global battery business will return to 1 billion euros (equivalent to RMB 7.57 billion) by 2025.