Investment firm Carlyle completes acquisition in Highway and Roop
The acquisition intends to deepen Carlyle’s investment in the auto components space and will add to the synergies of Highway and Roop’s assets.
US-listed investment firm Carlyle on Thursday completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in auto component manufacturers Highway Industries and Roop Automotives.
The acquisition, funded using equity from investment funds affiliated with Carlyle Asia Partners, intends to deepen Carlyle’s investment in precision-machined auto components for applications in electric, hybrid, and ICE-powered vehicles.
Founders of both Highway and Roop will continue to hold stakes in their respective companies and will work with Carlyle to leverage operating synergies and create new capabilities and capacities, the companies said in a statement.
“We believe India offers a tremendous opportunity in the advanced manufacturing sector, particularly in the auto components supply chain for both domestic and export markets. In our view, this provides a large-scale opportunity for the platform,” said Amit Jain, Managing Director and Head of Carlyle India Advisors.
“We believe creating scale with consolidation will enable investments in technology, talent, and systems, which will allow the platform to deliver an enhanced value proposition for its customers. We are excited to partner with Highway and Roop to build this platform. Carlyle is well-placed to accelerate the growth of the platform by leveraging our worldwide network and investments in the automotive sector globally,” Jain added. Platform or platform entity refers to the companies acquired—Highway and Roop.
Mark Blaufuss, Operating Executive at Carlyle, and Kishore Saletore, former Executive Director and Group CFO at Bharat Forge Limited, will join the combined entity’s board of directors.
The acquisition comes as Carlyle looks to double down on investments in advanced manufacturing and the industrial sector. As of December 31, Carlyle Asia Partners have invested over $32 billion of equity across 125 deals, with about $1.1 billion of this in Asia.
Edited by Suman Singh