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Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Agrees to Acquire Zollner Pistons

18 March 1999

Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Agrees to Acquire U.S. Piston Manufacturer Zollner Pistons

    FORT WAYNE, Indiana--March 18, 1999--Kolbenschmidt Pierburg AG, Dusseldorf, Germany, part of Rheinmetall Group, agreed to acquire Ft. Wayne, Indiana-based Zollner Pistons, LLC. Terms were not disclosed. This transaction makes Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Group one of the most important suppliers of pistons and power cylinder modules for gasoline and diesel engines in North America. The purchase is subject to the authorization by American anti-trust authorities.
    Zollner is a leading designer and manufacturer of pistons and power cylinder modules in the NAFTA-countries and is a major (Tier One) supplier to Ford, General Motors, Navistar, John Deere and Outboard Marine Corporation. The company has production sites in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and Ontario, Canada. A workforce of more than 1,000 employees generates a turnover of around $120 million (DM 211 million, 108 million euros)
    Through its subsidiary, Karl Schmidt Unisia Inc., Marinette, Wisconsin, Kolbenschmidt Pierburg is already a successful manufacturer of pistons in North America. The acquisition of Zollner Pistons will increase Kolbenschmidt Pierburg Group's North American piston sales to more than DM 400 million (200 million euros).
    Kolbenschmidt Pierburg's other sites in the U.S. are KS Bearings Inc., Greensburg, Indiana, Pierburg Inc., Fountain Inn, South Carolina and Pierburg Instruments Inc., Auburn Hills, Michigan. In 1998 Kolbenschmidt Pierburg achieved a turnover of around DM 300 million (150 million euros) in the U.S.
    The acquisition of Zollner is part of Rheinmetall's growth strategy for its key Automotive activity (Kolbenschmidt Pierburg). Automotive Division achieves around 36% of Rheinmetall Group's worldwide turnover of DM 8.1 billion. In 1998 Kolbenschmidt Pierburg sold worldwide components, modules and systems "right around the engine" worth DM 2.9 billion (1.5 billion euros; +37%). 11,500 employees work on 22 sites in Europe, North and South America and China.
    Zollner Pistons is owned by affiliates of Ryan Enterprises Group, a Chicago-based, family-owned investment firm. Zollner Pistons' owners were advised by Salomon Smith Barney Inc.