Clearwater International China advises Faurecia on its cross-border acquisition of in-car infotainment and technology company Jiangxi Coagent

Clearwater International has advised French automotive parts manufacturer Faurecia on its acquisition of Jiangxi Coagent Electronics, a Chinese in-car infotainment and technology company. Faurecia has taken a majority share in Jiangxi Coagent in a transaction worth over €180m.

Faurecia was founded in 1997 through the merger between Bertrand Faure - a specialist in spring-based seat cushions for the automotive industry - and ECIA - a Peugeot subsidiary and manufacturer of seats, front ends, vehicle interiors and exhaust systems and has grown to become a major player in the global automotive industry. With 330 sites including 30 R&D centers, 100,000 employees in 34 countries, Faurecia is now a global leader in its three areas of business: automotive seating, interior systems and clean mobility. Faurecia has focused its technology strategy on providing solutions for smart life on board and sustainable mobility. In 2016, the Group posted total sales of €18.7bn.

Jiangxi Coagent is a private Chinese company specialised in infotainment and interior electronic solutions, including the integration of digital displays and HMI technologies. The company is a leader of infotainment solutions in both the OEM and aftermarket in China. It employs 1,300 people including more than 300 engineers and is seeing a strong growth in sales, which reached €148m in 2016 and is anticipated to rise to €270m by 2019.