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MBK Partners, a private equity fund (PEF) company, just sold its 100% stake in Doosan Machine Tools Co. Ltd. to DTR Automotive, a South Korean maker of batteries, tires, and other auto parts. DTR Automotive agreed to buy the machine manufacturer and distributor for ₩2.4 trillion or $2.05 billion.
According to Pulse News, sources revealed that in the final round of bidding, the auto parts company was favored to be the new owner of Doosan Machine Tools over Sae-A, a local clothing company. It was said that Sae-A joined the bidding but also pulled out, perhaps because machine tool making is very far from its current line of business.
MBK Partners acquired Doosan Machine Tools from Doosan Infracore in 2016 for ₩1.13 trillion. It was said that the PEF company earned a lot as its new asset delivered solid financial results.
In fact, its earnings increased five-fold, pushing the sales to almost double in just three years after the acquisition. However, the US-China trade war in 2018 affected the business in China, so the total profits plunged.
The Korea Economic Daily reported that DTR Automotive decided to acquire the machine tools manufacturing company for business diversification. According to business insiders in the investment banking industry, MBK Partners signed a share purchase agreement (SPA) with DTR Automotive on Aug. 13, and it was Bank of America Merrill Lynch that handled the negotiations and purchase.
In any case, DTR Automotive was formed in 2017 as a spin-off from Dong Ah Tire. It is mainly supplying car parts to international auto companies such as BMW and Ford Motor Co. Its revenues got better as the demand for car parts increased. The firm’s storage battery production capacity was also expanded this year to accommodate the supply requirement from global firms.
It was reported that DTR Automotive’s purchase of Doosan Machine Tools will help it to diversify its customer base in Africa and the Middle East. Finally, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin stand at an average rate of 12.4% in the recent five years.
