Summary
Growth Achieved Through Strategic M&A and Geographic Expansion
Gores acquired Hay, founded in 1925 and headquartered in Bad Sobernheim, Germany, from the founding family in February 2012. As a part of the original investment thesis to create the leading global automotive supplier of transmission parts and horizontal forging technology, Gores successfully acquired and integrated three highly synergistic European businesses: Metallumform (Germany, 2013), Forjanor (Spain, 2014), and Metaco (Hungary, 2014).
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- Metallumform deepened Hay’s value chain coverage, added new customers and generated sales and cost synergies
- Forjanor was a carve-out from global steel producer Gerdau and brought new customers, cold forging capabilities, and free Hatebur capacity to Hay
- Metaco brought Hay access to low-cost machining expertise in Eastern Europe
Additionally, Hay expanded into Asia with the opening of a Greenfield forging plant in China to meet the demands and requirements of its customers. With this investment, Hay solidified its position as a global player within automotive forging and today participates in the automotive growth in Asia, while backing activities of its customers in Europe.
The Result
In partnership with Gores, Hay established itself as a global leader in the forging and machining space and as a significantly expanded business given its growth both organic and through acquisition.
In May 2016, Gores announced the successful sale of Hay to Musashi Seimitsu (“MSI”), a Japan-based manufacturer of automotive components.