Russian auto components factories Faurecia were bought by Format Invest
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As Kommersant expected, the assets of the auto components manufacturer Faurecia in the Russian Federation became the property of the company of its Russian top managers – Format Invest. Magna sold similar assets for $15 million. Faurecia’s main assets are located in Tolyatti, where one of its customers, AvtoVAZ, continues to operate, which makes them potentially more interesting.
The Faurecia Automotive Solutions and Faurecia Ecological Solutions companies, Russian legal entities of the manufacturer of components for Faurecia automobiles, became the property of the Format Invest company, as follows from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. Kommersant’s interlocutor noted that Faurecia has the right to repurchase.
“Format Invest” as Kommersant wrote on August 16, 2023, at the end of June 2023, was created by top managers of the Russian Faurecia with the goal of buying the assets of the French group and relaunching them. Initially, the general director of five Faurecia structures in Russia, Tatyana Gromova, and the operating director of Faurecia in Russia, Olivier Grinenberger, each had 35% in this company, the remaining shares of 6% each included the directors of the sites in Togliatti, Nikolay Afanasyev and Marina Davydenko, as well as the sales director , programs and engineering of Alexander Gorin. In September, Mr. Gorin left the company, and the remaining co-owners, with the exception of Tatyana Gromova and Olivier Grinenberger, received 7.5% each. Olivier Grinenberger received a Russian passport in 2023.
The perimeter of Faurecia’s Russian assets also included Faurecia Interior Luga (Lenoblast), Faurecia Interior Tolyatti and Faurecia Automotive Development (Kaluga). Some of these companies were in the process of reorganization. In 2023, it was assumed that the business “Foresia Interior Togliatti” and “Foresia Eco-friendly Solutions” would be moved to a new site in the Tolyatti SEZ, where the LLC “Foresia Automotive Solutions” launched in 2021 (seats, mechanisms for car seats) is located.
Kommersant sent questions to Faurecia and Tatyana Gromova about the terms of the deal. The transaction amount is unknown. For comparison: last summer Magna sold similar assets for $15 million to an unknown company on the market, E-Mobile, which may be associated with the former head of Uralvagonzavod Oleg Sienko.
The Faurecia group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of interiors and exhaust systems, has decided to leave the Russian Federation at the beginning of 2023. In 2022, the group, as a result of a merger with Hella (specializing in electronics), became known as Forvia. The company’s 2022 report reported that the group’s activities in the Russian Federation are “very limited” – 0.4% of total sales in 2022 versus 1.4% a year earlier. At the same time, the company estimated the costs associated with the termination of activities in the Russian Federation at €130.3 million, of which €103.9 million were reorganization costs, €26.4 million were other expenses. The press release also reported that one-time expenses associated with the decision to leave the Russian Federation (mainly asset impairment) are estimated at €143 million. The company decided to leave business in the Russian Federation, among other things, “due to war.”
The main buyers of the group’s products were the Renault-Nissan alliance, AvtoVAZ, as well as Hyundai/Kia and Volkswagen. Of these manufacturers, only AvtoVAZ continues to operate. Kommersant was unable to find out whether Faurecia products have recently been supplied to AvtoVAZ. But in August 2023, Faurecia Eco-Friendly Solutions received a conclusion on the 719th resolution of the Russian government confirming localization for the “Grant rear muffler assembly”, “LADA 21214 rear muffler” (Niva), “LADA 21214 front muffler” ( Niva), and in December – to the catalytic converter assembly.
The Hyundai/Kia plants are in the process of being sold to Art-Finance, which previously acquired the Volkswagen plant. At the same time, at the site of Korean companies in St. Petersburg there is a large warehouse of components. In 2022, Faurecia Eco-Friendly Solutions also continued to work with UzAuto.
Automotive analyst Vladimir Bespalov noted that Faurecia’s assets look interesting given the continuation of work in Tolyatti and the presence of at least one major client. At the same time, in the future, as other projects are restarted, the list of customers may grow.
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