Terex Corporation has increased its shareholding in Czech truck manufacturer Tatra from 20% to 71%. Terex purchased the additional 51% of the outstanding common shares from SDC International, Inc.
Tatra manufactures on/off-road heavy-duty vehicles for commercial and military applications. It had revenues of approximately $138m in 2002.
‘We view Tatra as an integral part of our ongoing military strategy,’ said Ron DeFeo, chairman and chief executive officer of Terex. ‘We knew when we initially invested in Tatra as a minority shareholder that the company needed to be restructured. Tatra needed greater working capital funding in the near term than prior ownership was able to provide, which has led to our recent decision to acquire the additional equity. The acquisition announced today makes Terex the controlling shareholder of Tatra, which was a requirement for Terex providing Tatra with the additional working capital funding necessary to take the restructuring actions required. While the current Tatra board of directors and supervisory board will not change, Fil Filipov will become the chairman of the supervisory board. Mr Filipov will also continue as president of Terex Cranes.’
DeFeo continued: ‘In addition to the military opportunity, we also see Tatra as an excellent low cost engineering and fabrication resource, and as an entree to developing markets that many of our businesses can capitalise on.’
