Following a thorough assessment of its strategic options, the board of directors of STAHLGRUBER Otto Gruber AG has resolved to sell STAHLGRUBER GmbH (STAHLGRUBER), a leading automotive parts distributor in Europe, to LKQ Corporation (‘LKQ Corp.’), including all national and international subsidiaries. The corresponding purchase contract for STAHLGRUBER was signed yesterday. The sales price corresponds to a company value of EUR 1.5 billion. The decision is the result of an in-depth review of several bids for STAHLGRUBER. The transaction remains subject to approval by the responsible authorities.

The sale of STAHLGRUBER to LKQ Corp. should ensure that STAHLGRUBER continues to hold its position at the forefront of the ongoing, pan-European consolidation of the automotive parts wholesale industry, while also maintaining a successful strategic alignment. When selecting the strategic and long-term investor, concern for the staff’s well-being was front and centre. ‘The merger with LKQ Corp. enables STAHLGRUBER to maintain and expand its dominant market position in the European automotive vehicle parts market” explains Heinz Reiner Reiff, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of STAHLGRUBER Otto Gruber AG. 

“STAHLGRUBER has achieved above-average growth in recent years when compared with overall market performance, and is an ideal fit with our company culture given its outstanding reputation. We are proud to welcome approximately 6,600 STAHLGRUBER members of staff to the LKQ family. We are certain that by joining forces we will be in a position to generate enormous value for our customers and shareholders, allowing us to exploit significant growth potential for the Group as a whole” states Dominick Zarcone, President and CEO of LKQ Corporation. 

LKQ Corp. (www.lkqcorp.com) is a leading provider operating in the international automotive parts market, with company locations in North America, Europe and Taiwan; its market capitalisation stands at approximately USD 12 billion.