Thierry Morin, the head of French auto parts supplier Valeo SA, told The Detroit Free Press he is interested in making an offer for American peers Visteon, or bankrupt Delphi Corp.
The French supplier of climate-control systems, electronics and transmissions reportedly has set aside $2.5 billion for acquisitions in North America, according to The Free Press. However, a buyout of Visteon could exhaust most of the $2.5 billion, according to The Deal's Auction Block database, which lists Visteon's likely sale price as $2.2 billion.
Valeo is keen on expanding its relationship with Toyota in North America, according to a MarketWatch story. Adding Visteon or Delphi will help it achieve that goal. Valeo already has plans to expand its 7,700 strong North American work force thanks to its recent agreement with Ford Motor Co. to buy a former Visteon facility responsible for making climate-control systems.
The news that Valeo is interested in Visteon is not exactly new, but it confirms earlier reports about the French auto-parts supplier.
In the meantime, the confirmation of interest has helped Visteon by lowering the price of insuring its debt as credit default swaps narrowed by 40 basis points, traders told Reuters. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from The Detroit Free Press
See story from MarketWatch
See story from Reuters
See Delphi profile from Bankruptcy Insider (subscription required)
See Visteon profile from Auction Block (subscription required)
Continue reading below
