ArvinMeritor Inc. (ARM) completed the sale of its remaining auto
parts division, effectively ending a four-year restructuring effort
aimed at returning the company to profitability by tying its future
to the commercial truck industry.
The producer of parts for commercial vehicles sold its body
systems business to Inteva Products LLC for about $27.3 million,
consisting of $12.3 million in cash and a promissory note for $15
million. The transaction, which affects more than 4,100 employees
in 16 countries, was initially announced in August.
"This transaction completes our transformation, and will further
our ability to achieve our financial goals with the continued
strengthening of our core operations in the global commercial
vehicle and industrial markets," said ArvinMeritor Chairman and
Chief Executive Chip McClure.
McClure has been remaking ArvinMeritor by selling off divisions
and closing plants since 2007. His goal has been to streamline the
company during a time of great upheaval in the auto-parts
industry.
ArvinMeritor has seen positive volume trends of late in Europe
and North America as the automotive market has improved. Results
suffered last year when vehicle production was slashed because of
slack demand.
In November, the company reported it swung to a fiscal
fourth-quarter profit on a pension gain as sales jumped and margins
improved.
Shares were up a penny to $20.86 in after-hours trading. The
company's stock has rallied for nearly two years, after falling
under $1 in March 2009.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; john.kell@dowjones.com
(Jeff Bennett contributed to this report.)