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Continental AG: US Antitrust Authority Grants Conditional Approval to Veyance Acquisition

DGAP-News: Continental AG / Key word(s): Acquisition
Continental AG: US Antitrust Authority Grants Conditional Approval to
Veyance Acquisition

12.12.2014 / 10:41

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US Antitrust Authority Grants Conditional Approval to Veyance Acquisition

- Antitrust authority in Canada also clears acquisition

- Air springs plant in Mexico has to be sold

Hanover, December 12, 2014. Continental has taken a further significant
step toward closing of the acquisition of US company Veyance Technologies
Inc, Fairlawn, Ohio. Yesterday evening, the US antitrust authority
(Department of Justice) cleared the acquisition subject to the condition of
divesting Veyance's air spring plant in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The
antitrust authority in Canada has meanwhile also approved the acquisition
of the rubber and plastics company.

"We welcome these decisions which bring us significantly closer to our
strategic goal - expanding our industrial operations," said Heinz-Gerhard
Wente, a member of the Executive Board of Continental AG and CEO of the
ContiTech division. "At the same time we regret that we are not permitted
to take over the air springs business in NAFTA. In our estimation that
would have brought clear benefits for the customers. We will now look for a
buyer as quickly as possible who will provide a secure future for the
approximately 500 employees in the plant in Mexico and develop the business
further."

Decision of a few antitrust authorities are still pending. This means that
the closing planned for the end of this year will shift to 2015. "We will
continue to cooperate in every way with the authorities to help in reaching
a decision quickly so that our customers and employees know exactly where
we stand," declared Wente. "The assessment of the antitrust authorities
with positive rulings shows that the acquisition will not have an adverse
impact on the markets."

Continental intends the acquisition of Veyance Technologies to strengthen
its industrial operations. Veyance will complement the ContiTech division
in markets in which the company is underrepresented at present,
particularly in the US and South America. Locations in Canada, China,
Australia and South Africa will provide additional opportunities. Veyance
operates around the world in the field of rubber and plastics technology
and in 2013 recorded sales of some 1.5 billion euros, 90 percent of which
were achieved in industry. Its 27 plants around the world had a total