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March 30, 2022

Crane to split into two companies!

Crane plans to split into two independent public companies

Crane (CR) announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved a plan to pursue a separation into two independent, publicly-traded companies to optimize investment and capital allocation, accelerate growth, and unlock shareholder value.

Upon completion, Crane Co.’s shareholders will benefit from ownership in two focused and simplified businesses that are both leaders in their respective industries and well-positioned for continued success:

Crane Co. will be a leading global provider of mission-critical, highly engineered products and solutions, with differentiated technology, respected brands, and leadership positions in its markets.

After the separation, Crane Co. will include the Aerospace & Electronics and Process Flow Technologies businesses.

This year, these businesses are expected to generate approximately $1.9B in annual sales with a pre-corporate Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 18.5%.

The company will be well-positioned to accelerate organic growth in its large and attractive end markets, benefit from favorable secular trends, and apply its proven processes to drive growth through new product development and commercial excellence.

Richard Teller Crane, Founder of Crane Co.

Crane Co. is expected to have a strong, well-capitalized balance sheet underpinning a capital deployment strategy focused on supporting the company’s organic and inorganic strategic growth objectives, while providing a dividend in-line with peers.

Crane Co. will be led by Max Mitchell, who will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer, with Rich Maue continuing to serve as Chief Financial Officer.

The company intends to continue to be listed on the NYSE under its current ticker symbol, “CR”.

Crane NXT will be a premier Industrial Technology business with substantial global scale, a best-in-class margin profile, and strong free cash flow generation.

This year, the Payment and Merchandising Technologies business that will become Crane NXT is expected to achieve approximately $1.4 billion in sales with a pre-corporate Adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 28%.

In addition to its market leading brands, Crane NXT will differentiate itself through its technology leadership, positioning it to leverage long-term secular drivers including automation, security and productivity, across several high-growth adjacent markets.

After the separation, Crane NXT will be positioned to drive earnings growth through continued investment in the business and value-enhancing bolt-on acquisitions. Its balance sheet and strong free cash flow will also allow it to support a robust and differentiated level of capital return to shareholders that is expected to include a competitive dividend.

Crane NXT’s shares are expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “CXT”. A process is currently underway to identify Crane NXT’s chief executive, including evaluation of both internal and external candidates.

The executives currently leading Crane’s PMT business will continue to serve in senior positions with Crane NXT.

The separation is expected to occur through a tax-free distribution of the Aerospace & Electronics and Process Flow Technologies businesses to the Company’s shareholders.

Payment & Merchandising Technologies will be renamed Crane NXT concurrent with the separation, and the Aerospace & Electronics and Process Flow Technologies businesses will retain the Crane Co. name.

Upon completion of the separation, shareholders will own 100% of the equity in both of the publicly traded companies.

The separation is expected to be completed within approximately 12 months of this announcement, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions and final approval of the separation by Crane Co.’s Board of Directors. Shareholder approval is not required.

Crane Co. will maintain its current capital deployment policies until the separation is completed.

CR is up $2.50 to $112.63.

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This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility.

March 15, 2022

Investor demands replacing IAA CEO

Ancora urges IAA to replace CEO or run sale process

IAA, Inc. (IAA) operates a digital marketplace that connects vehicle buyers and sellers. The company’s platform facilitates the marketing and sale of total loss, damaged, and low-value vehicles for a range of sellers. It provides buyers with various bidding/buying digital channels, vehicle merchandising, evaluation services and online bidding tools, and replacement part inventory.

Ancora Holdings Group, which beneficially owns approximately 2% of IAA’s outstanding common stock, sent a letter to the company’s board which stated in part,

“Given IAA’s underperformance and the fact that the Company’s market capitalization has plummeted by roughly 40% since reporting third quarter earnings in November 2021, the status quo cannot persist. We believe there are two strategic actions for the Board of Directors to consider at this point:

1. Replace Mr. Kett with a new CEO who is more dynamic and equipped to reinvigorate the organization. In our view, IAA needs a leader with a vision for achieving organic market share growth, improved margins and effective capital allocation.

2. If the Board is unwilling to act with urgency to improve leadership, it should run a formal sale process to sell the Company. ”

The activist added, “In light of IAA’s attractive attributes and business model, we anticipate the Company would obtain a significant premium relative to its current share price if taken private by one of the many well-capitalized potential acquirers in the marketplace.

We estimate a takeout price of $55 or more is achievable based on a trailing 12-month EBITDA of 15.5x and an analysis of peers’ valuations and precedent transactions.

2 At this point, a sale seems like the best risk-adjusted path forward for stockholders.”

IAA is up $2.51 to $38.83.

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February 23, 2022

Ford does not plan to spin off EV business!

Ford CEO says no plans to spin off electric business or ICE business

Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley said while speaking at the Wolfe Research Auto, Auto Tech and Mobility conference:

“I wanted to talk quickly about running a successful ICE (internal combustion engines) business versus a BEV (battery-powered electric vehicle) business as we’re scaling. The customers are different.

The EV customers are not like our ICE customers. Our go-to-market as the result has to be digital, no inventory and remote. It’s different. We can bridge to it today, but we have to go much deeper…

Ford to launch 50 new vehicles in China. See Stockwinners.com

Ford will ensure we have the right structure and talent in place to compete and win in this digital software-enabled vehicle business, but as well to revitalize our ICE business.

And here, I really want to emphasize the shift that we’re thinking about.

There’s a lot of focus on the digital electric growth opportunity. But we believe we have lots of room on our ICE business for better quality, lower structural costs and radical reduction in complexity.

And despite the press speculation, we have no plans to spin off our electric business or ICE business. It’s really more around focus and capabilities, expertise and talent. Those are key for Ford, and this is what we’re working on. Now many companies have studied this.

Some even have a person in charge of EVs here and there. But trust me, Ford will go deeper because we know our competition is Nio and Tesla, and we have to beat them, not match them…

We believe and we acknowledge that we have upside in our ICE business and it’s critical that we leverage that and we’ve been working on and making progress to get to that 8% EBIT margin as a company…

We believe that both ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning. Let me say that one more time. This management team firmly believes that our ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning and that is not price. That is lower structural costs, improving our bill of material for our BEV vehicles and scaling…

The net all of this is we have ample headroom for growth, as you said, Rod, and increased our company EBIT margin target to get to that 8%… And what we want to get across to all of you is that we have a long view of Ford that we have rethought our entire portfolio.”

F last traded at $17.00, down 30 cents.

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December 10, 2021

Rig Counts Jump!

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 7 to 576 rigs

Baker Hughes (BKR) reports that the U.S. rig count is up 7 from last week to 576 with oil rigs up 4 to 471, gas up 3 to 105, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 0.

Oil Rigs, See Stockwinners.com Market Radar to read the latest on oil and rig count

The U.S. Rig Count is up 238 rigs from last year’s count of 338, with oil rigs up 213 gas rigs up 26 and miscellaneous rigs down 1.

The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 1 to 14, up 1 year-over-year.

The Canada Rig Count is down 3 from last week to 177, with oil rigs down 3 to 110, gas rigs unchanged at 67.

The Canada Rig Count is up 66 rigs from last year’s count of 111, with oil rigs up 58, gas rigs up 8.

The international offshore rig count for April 2018 was 194. Stockwinners — The U.S. offshore rig count rose by one.

The Baker Hughes rig counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets.

The Company has issued the rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of the U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. The monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up $1.01 to $71.95 per barrel. Brent crude is up $0.95 to $75.35 per barrel. Gasoline last traded at $2.142 per gallon up 1.4 cents on the day.

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September 22, 2021

When It rains, It pours!

Workhorse Group suspends deliveries of C-1000 vehicles, recalls 41 that it had delivered

Workhorse Group Inc. (WKHS) shares plunged on Wednesday to their lowest in fifteen months after the beleaguered electric-vehicle maker said it will suspend deliveries of its vans and recall units it has already delivered.

Workhorse Group (WKHS) provided an update to its ongoing review of the Company’s business and go-forward operating and commercial plans to transition from an advanced technology start-up to an efficient manufacturing company.

The electric van, called the C-1000, would require additional testing and modifications to existing vehicles in order to certify them under federal motor vehicle safety standards, the company said in a statement.

The Company stopped delivery of its C-1000

The Company has identified a number of enhancements in the production process and design of the C-1000 to address customer feedback, primarily related to vehicle dynamics to increase the vehicles’ payload capacity.

As Workhorse has identified these enhancements and continued its review and redesign of the C-1000, the Company has decided to suspend deliveries of C-1000 vehicles and recall 41 vehicles it has already delivered.

As part of these efforts, the new leadership team has determined that additional testing and modifications to existing vehicles are required to certify the C-1000 vehicles under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard.

The Company expects to complete testing in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Workhorse intends to provide an update on its operating and commercial plans on its upcoming third quarter 2021 earnings call.

The Company has filed a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regarding the need for additional testing and vehicle modifications to certify its C-1000 vehicles under FMVSS, and intends to fully coordinate with NHTSA.

The Company has not received any customer reports of safety issues related to this matter in any of the C-1000 vehicles previously delivered by Workhorse.

Additional details will be available in the Company’s filing with NHTSA.

Accordingly, the Company’s previous statements related to the C-1000’s compliance with NHTSA standards cannot be relied upon and the Company has so notified the Securities and Exchange Commission.

#Cowen analyst Jeffrey #Osborne lowered his price target on the company to $7.50 from $8.50, and also reduced his estimates for 2021 and 2022 after the announcement, saying a “turnaround appears more challenging.” The analyst also expects working capital to likely be challenged due to prepayments for batteries and other critical materials.

According to some reports, the company is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as disappointment related to losing out on a U.S. Postal Service contract that many had expected Workhorse to win.

WKHS closed at $7.41. Shares have a 52-week high of $42.96.

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July 23, 2021

Veoneer sold for $3.8B

Magna to acquire Veoneer for $31.25 per share in cash

Magna (MGA) and Veoneer (VNE) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Magna will acquire Veoneer.

The Swedish auto parts maker sold for $3.8B

Pursuant to the agreement, Magna will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Veoneer for $31.25 per share in cash, representing a total value of $3.8B, and an enterprise value of $3.3B, inclusive of Veoneer’s cash, net of debt and other debt-like items as of March 31.

Magna expects to operate Veoneer’s Arriver sensor perception and drive policy software platform as an independent business unit, consistent with Veoneer’s current practice.

In addition, Magna will acquire Veoneer’s global position in restraint control systems.

Following the closing of the transaction, Veoneer will be combined with Magna’s existing ADAS business and integrated into Magna’s electronics operating unit.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Veoneer and Magna boards of directors, and Veoneer’s board of directors unanimously recommends that Veoneer stockholders approve the proposed merger and merger agreement.

In addition, Veoneer stockholders AMF, Cevian, AP4 and Alecta, which collectively represent approximately 40% of Veoneer’s outstanding shares of common stock, have either entered into support agreements with Magna or provided indications of support, pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things and subject to certain conditions, to vote their shares of Veoneer common stock in favor of the transaction.

A special meeting of Veoneer’s stockholders will be convened in connection with the transaction as soon as practicable after the mailing to Veoneer’s stockholders of the proxy statement in connection with the merger.

Magna is rumored to be making the Apple Car

The transaction is expected to close near the end of 2021, subject to the approval of Veoneer’s stockholders, certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to any financing conditions.

Veoneer, Inc. engages in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of automotive safety electronics primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. It offers automotive radars, mono-and stereo-vision cameras, night driving assist systems, advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), electronic control units, airbag control units, crash sensors, seat belt pre-tensioner electronic controllers, and ADAS software for highly automated driving (HAD) and autonomous driving (AD). Veoneer, Inc. is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

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June 12, 2020

Bitauto taken private at $16 a share

Bitauto enters definitive agreement for going-private transaction

Bitauto (BITA) announced that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Yiche Holding and Yiche Mergersub Limited, a wholly owned Subsidiary of Parent, pursuant to which the company will be acquired by an investor consortium led by Morespark Limited, an affiliate of Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) and Hammer Capital Opportunities Fund L.P. in an all-cash transaction that values the company’s equity at approximately $1.1B.

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, each ordinary share of the company issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive $16 in cash without interest, and each outstanding American depositary share of the company will be cancelled in exchange for the right to receive $16 in cash without interest, except for

(a) certain Shares owned by affiliates of Tencent, an affiliate of JD.com (JD), and Bin Li, chairman of the board of directors of the company, which will be rolled over in the transaction ,

(b) Shares owned by Parent, Merger Sub, the company or any of their respective subsidiaries,

(c) Shares held by the ADS depositary and reserved for issuance, settlement and allocation upon exercise or vesting of company’s options and/or restricted share unit awards, and

(d) Shares held by shareholders who have validly exercised and not effectively withdrawn or lost their rights to dissent from the merger pursuant to Section 238 of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands.

The Merger is currently expected to close in the second half of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions including the approval of the Merger Agreement by an affirmative vote of holders of Shares representing at least two-thirds of the voting power of the Shares present and voting in person or by proxy at a meeting of the company’s shareholders. those dissenting shares in accordance with Section 238 of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands.

Bitauto Holdings Limited provides internet content and marketing services, and transaction services for the automobile industry in the People’s Republic of China.

BITA closed at $14.33.

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May 14, 2020May 13, 2020

In the market for a used car? You are in luck

A Hertz bankruptcy will flood the market with used vehicles

If you are in the market for a used car, you are in luck. That is, if you have a place to drive to!

According to the Detroit Press, used car prices fell 34.4 percent in April alone. The paper offers solace to it’s readers by mentioning that used car prices could go up soon due to a shortage of new cars caused by plant closures. The paper however, failed to mention the nearly half a million cars currently sitting ideal on Hertz car lots. With practically no one traveling these days, the need for rental cars has evaporated. Hertz (HTZ) and Avis-Budget (CAR) have suffered the most. Hertz has bigger problems than COVID-19 and that is it’s balance sheet.

There are several stories suggesting a Hertz bankruptcy is around the corner.

According to Bloomberg, Hertz’s situation is a three-way standoff between Holders of Hertz’s asset-backed securities. They could delay pressuring Hertz to sell down its fleet for a short period of time, but they will need Hertz’s banks to promise to make them whole. The banks, in turn, may not want to take on such a risk, which requires them to bet that either the rental car business or used car prices return to some normal operating level.

A 2-year price chart of Hertz (HTZ), Stockwinners

Meanwhile, controlling shareholder Carl Icahn (IEP) holds a 39% equity stake in the rental company. Bloomberg says that he could put in more money to keep Hertz afloat, but this once again is dependent on a belief that the rental car business will recover to some extent in the very near future.

In a bankruptcy, Bloomberg notes, equity holders’ claims would be behind those of creditors, which is not an incentive for Icahn to put in more money at the moment.

Used car prices have fallen sharply due to Covid-19

A Hertz bankruptcy could flood the used car market with several hundred thousand cars, whose value is likely to take a substantial hit at a time when used car lots are already quite full and demand is low.

Companies now deliver used cars to your home for test drives

Bloomberg notes that used car prices dropped 11.4% from March to April, while sales were merely a quarter of pre-outbreak levels.

Meanwhile Hertz has started discounting its cars on its used car lots and Hertz Car Sales. In fact, you can pick up a car, and they will deliver it to your house for a test drive. We have seen discounts as high as 25% on some models. The company carries brands like Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota and Nissan, to some luxury brands like Audi, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.

One more footnote to this story: auto dealerships usually set their used car prices as a function of new car prices. With most of the domestic auto plants closed, price of new cars (2021 model year) will not be known anytime soon.

Companies in the space include: Copart (CPRT), CarMax (KMX), Carvana (CVNA), CarGurus (CARG), Penske (PAG). AutoNation (AN).

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January 12, 2020

Hexcel and Woodward merge to form Woodward Hexcel

Hexcel, Woodward announce merger of equals

Woodward (WWD) and Hexcel (HXL) announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals “to create a premier integrated systems provider serving the aerospace and industrial sectors,” the companies said.

Woodward and Hexcel agree to merge, Stockwinners

Under the terms of the agreement approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, Hexcel shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.625 shares of Woodward common stock for each share of Hexcel common stock, and Woodward shareholders will continue to own the same number of shares of common stock in the combined company as they do immediately prior to the closing.

Hexcel and Woodward to merge, Stockwinners

The exchange ratio is consistent with the 30-day average share prices of both companies.

Upon completion of the merger, existing Woodward shareholders will own approximately 55% and existing Hexcel shareholders will own approximately 45% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

In connection with the transaction, Woodward is increasing its quarterly cash dividend to 28c a share.

The merger is expected to be tax free for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

The combined company will be named Woodward Hexcel.

For each company’s respective fiscal year 2019 on a pro forma basis, the combined company is expected to generate net revenues of approximately $5.3B and EBITDA of $1.1B, or a 21% EBITDA margin.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the shareholders of both Woodward and Hexcel, as well as other customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approvals.

The parties expect the merger to close in the third calendar quarter of 2020, subject to satisfaction of these conditions.

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December 20, 2019

PolyOne buys Claiant’s color business for $1.45B

PolyOne acquires Clariant color and additive masterbatch business for $1.45B

PolyOne (POL) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Switzerland’s Clariant to purchase its global color and additive masterbatch business.

In addition, PolyOne has entered into an agreement with Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. to purchase its color and additive masterbatch business.

The combined net purchase price is $1.45B, representing an 11.1x multiple of last twelve months adjusted EBITDA, or 7.6x including anticipated synergies.

Polyone buys paint business of Clariant, Stockwinners

“This will be a truly transformational acquisition for both PolyOne and Clariant customers and employees around the world. Together, we will benefit from the combined ingenuity, passion and expertise of two global leaders in color design, additive technologies and sustainable solutions,” said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, PolyOne Corporation.

Clariant’s color and additive masterbatch business, which had sales of $1.15 billion for the last twelve months, includes specialty technologies and solutions for high-growth global end markets, such as consumer, packaging, and healthcare.

Polyone buys Clariant’s color biz for $1.45B, Stockwinners

The Clariant business includes 46 manufacturing operations and technology centers in 29 countries and approximately 3,600 employees, who will join PolyOne’s Color, Additives and Inks segment.

PolyOne Corporation provides specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in four segments: Color, Additives and Inks; Specialty Engineered Materials; Performance Products and Solutions; and Distribution.

POL is up 0.89 to $36.86.

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December 4, 2019December 4, 2019

Truck sales decline in November

Classes 5-8 truck orders soften in November amid trade and tariff worries

Truck sales downturn could be canary in the coal mine

There are eight classes of commercial motor vehicles in the United States, and they’re divided into three, more general categories: light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty. Commercial motor vehicles or trucks that operate on U.S. highways can be classified based on their gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).

ACT Research said in an earlier report:

“Preliminary November data show that Classes 5-8 net order volumes were uniformly soft. Combined NA Classes 5-8 intake fell 15% m/m and 38% y/y in November on a nominal basis. Preliminary North America Class 8 net order data show the industry booked 17,500 units in November, down 20% from October, while Classes 5-7 orders fell 8% m/m, to 15,300 units.

Complete industry data for November, including final order numbers, will be published by ACT Research in mid-December.

Various Classes of Vehicles, Stockwinners

ACT’s State of the Industry:

Classes 5-8 report provides a monthly look at the current production, sales, and general state of the on-road heavy and medium duty commercial vehicle markets in North America. It differentiates market indicators by Class 5, Classes 6-7 chassis and Class 8 trucks and tractors, detailing measures such as backlog, build, inventory, new orders, cancellations, net orders, and retail sales.

Additionally, Class 5 and Classes 6-7 are segmented by trucks, buses, RVs, and step van configurations, while Class 8 is segmented by trucks and tractors with and without sleeper cabs.

This report includes a six-month industry build plan, backlog timing analysis, historical data from 1996 to the present in spreadsheet format, and a ready-to-use graph package.

A first-look at preliminary net orders is also published in conjunction with this report.

“Preliminary November data show that Class 8 net orders failed to sustain October’s encouraging start to the order season,” said Tim Denoyer, ACT’s Vice President and Senior Analyst.

He continued, “The freight market downturn worsened in the past month and uncertainty surrounding trade and tariffs continue to weigh on truck buyers’ psyches. With rising pressure on carrier profits from the combined impact of lower rates and the recent, rather sudden jump in insurance premia, recent events have not developed in the industry’s favor.” Denoyer concluded,

“While private fleets continue to add capacity on the retail end, the market is increasingly heeding for-hire price signals and the stage is being set to right-size the fleet, bringing it closer to equilibrium with the work to be done.”

Historically, Dow Jones Transports have sold off prior to the rest of the market. The .djt has turned bearish as is shown above.

Publicly traded companies in the space include ArcBest (ARCB), J.B. Hunt (JBHT), Knight-Swift (KNX), Old Dominion (ODFL), Swift Transportation (SWFT), Werner (WERN), Paccar (PCAR), Navistar (NAV)and Cummins (CMI).

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September 23, 2019

Aptiv, Hyundai Motor to form autonomous driving joint venture

Aptiv, Hyundai Motor to form autonomous driving JV

Aptiv (APTV) and Hyundai Motor Group (HYMTF) announced that they will be forming an autonomous driving joint venture.

This partnership brings together one of the industry’s most innovative vehicle technology providers and one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers.

Aptiva scores a victory by forming JV with Hyundai, Stockwinners

The joint venture will advance the design, development and commercialization of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous technologies, furthering the partners’ leadership position in the global autonomous driving ecosystem.

The joint venture will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020 and have a production-ready autonomous driving platform available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers in 2022.

As part of the agreement, Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv will each have a 50 percent ownership stake in the joint venture, valued at a total of $4B.

Hyundai forms autonomous driving joint venture, Stockwinners

Aptiv will contribute its autonomous driving technology, intellectual property, and approximately 700 employees focused on the development of scalable autonomous driving solutions.

Hyundai Motor Group affiliates – Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis – will collectively contribute $1.6B in cash at closing and $0.4B in vehicle engineering services, R&D resources, and access to intellectual property.

The partnership reinforces the companies’ shared vision of making mobility more safe, green, connected, and accessible by advancing the development and commercialization of the highest-performing and safest autonomous vehicles.

Shares of Aptiva are up 1.6% to $88.50.

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July 12, 2019

Milacron sold for $2 billion

Hillenbrand to acquire Milacron in cash, stock deal valued around $2B

Hillenbrand (HI) and Milacron (MCRN) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Hillenbrand will acquire Milacron in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $2B, including net debt of approximately $686M as of March 31.

Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, Milacron stockholders will receive $11.80 in cash and a fixed exchange ratio of 0.1612 shares of Hillenbrand common stock for each share of Milacron common stock they own.

Based on Hillenbrand’s closing stock price on July 11, the last trading day prior to the announcement, the implied cash and stock consideration to be received by Milacron stockholders is $18.07 per share, representing a premium of approximately 34% to Milacron’s closing stock price on July 11, and a premium of approximately 38% to Milacron’s 30-day volume-weighted average price as of the close on July 11.

Hillenbrand pays $2 billion to buy one of its suppliers, Stockwinners

Upon closing, Hillenbrand shareholders will own approximately 84% of the combined company, and Milacron stockholders will own approximately 16%.

Milacron will benefit from the Hillenbrand Operating Model, or HOM, and Hillenbrand expects to leverage Milacron’s global shared services center to drive operational efficiency.

The transaction is expected to generate annualized, run-rate cost synergies of approximately $50M within three years following close, primarily through reducing public company costs, realizing operating efficiencies, and capturing direct and indirect spend opportunities.

The transaction is also expected to generate revenue synergies, driven by opportunities to cross-sell extruder and material handling equipment, and to leverage the combined service footprint to further penetrate the product aftermarket.

These efficiencies will be driven across the combined organization through utilizing the HOM, while maintaining a commitment to serving customers with excellence and innovation.

The transaction, which is expected to close in Q1 of 2020, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including the approval of stockholders of Milacron.

About the Companies

Hillenbrand, Inc. operates as a diversified industrial company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Process Equipment Group and Batesville. The Process Equipment Group segment designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, and services process and material handling equipment and systems for various industries, including plastics, food and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals and mining, energy, wastewater treatment, forest products, and other general industrials.

Milacron Holdings Corp. manufactures, distributes, and services engineered and customized systems within the plastic technology and processing industry in the United States and internationally.

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June 27, 2019

Ford launches new business model in Europe

Ford to cut 12,000 jobs in Europe by end of 2020

Ford to realign its European operations, Stockwinners

Ford (F) said in a statement that it is launching a new business model and fresh vehicle line-up as part of the most comprehensive redesign in the history of its business in Europe.

The company also is on track to significantly improve its financial results in Europe this year, paving the way to sustainable profitability and its longer-term goal of delivering a 6% EBIT margin.

The new European operating model and resulting organization are effective July 1.

Three new business groups – Commercial Vehicles, Passenger Vehicles and Imports – are being established to facilitate fast decision-making centered on customer needs, Ford said.

Ford Kuga will now be manufactured in China instead of Europe, Stockwinners

Ford is freshening and expanding its vehicle line-up in Europe, introducing at least three new nameplates in the next five years as it continues to grow its utility vehicle portfolio, including the all-new Mustang-inspired fully electric performance utility.

The new nameplates are in addition to all-new Kuga, Puma and Explorer Plug-In Hybrid coming by early 2020.

Manufacturing efficiency is being improved through the previously announced proposed or confirmed closure or sale of six assembly and component manufacturing plants by the end of next year: Proposed closure of Bridgend Engine Plant in South Wales; Closure of Ford Aquitaine Industries Transmission Plant in France; Closure of Naberezhnye Chelny Assembly, St. Petersburg Assembly and Elabuga Engine Plant in Russia; Sale of the Kechnec Transmission Plant in Slovakia to Magna.

This Ford Mustang designed for the European market, Stockwinners

As a result, Ford’s manufacturing footprint in Europe will be reduced to a proposed 18 facilities by the end of 2020, from 24 at the beginning of 2019.

In the U.K., the Ford of Britain and Ford Credit Europe headquarters in Warley also will close later this year and operations consolidated in Dunton.

In addition, Ford is implementing shift reductions at its assembly plants in Saarlouis, Germany, and Valencia, Spain, as well as a more streamlined management structure and marketing and sales operations.

In total, approximately 12,000 jobs will be impacted at Ford’s wholly owned facilities and consolidated joint ventures in Europe by the end of 2020, primarily through voluntary separation programs.

Around 2,000 of those are salaried positions, which are included among the 7,000 salaried positions Ford is reducing globally.

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May 27, 2019

Fiat Chrysler propose to merge with Renault

Fiat Chrysler proposes to 50/50 merger agreement with Renault

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCAU) announced that it has delivered a non-binding letter to the board of Renault (RNLSY) proposing a combination of their respective businesses as a 50/50 merger.

The FCA proposal follows initial operational discussions between the two companies to identify products and geographies where they could collaborate.

*Fiat Chrysler propose to merge with Renault, Stockwinners*

Fiat said, “These discussions made clear that broader collaboration through a combination would substantially improve capital efficiency and the speed of product development. The case for combination is also strengthened by the need to take bold decisions to capture at scale the opportunities created by the transformation of the auto industry in areas like connectivity, electrification and autonomous driving…The combined business would sell approximately 8.7 million vehicles annually, would be a world leader in EV technologies, premium brands, SUVs, pickup trucks and light commercial vehicles and would have a broader and more balanced global presence than either company on a standalone basis.”

Under the terms of the proposal, shareholders in each company would receive an equivalent equity stake in the combined company.

The combination would be carried out as a merger transaction under a Dutch parent company.

The board of the combined entity would initially be composed of 11 members, with the majority being independent and with equal representation of four members each for both FCA and Groupe Renault, as well as one nominee from Nissan.

Further, there would be no carryover of existing double voting rights.

However, all shareholders would have the opportunity to earn loyalty voting rights from the completion of the transaction under a loyalty voting program.

The parent company would be listed on the Borsa Italiana, Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange. Before the transaction is closed, to mitigate the disparity in equity market values, Fiat said its shareholders would also receive a dividend of EUR $2.5B.

In addition, prior to closing, there would be a distribution of Comau’s shares to Fiat’s shareholders or an incremental EUR $250M dividend if the Comau spin-off does not occur.

The combination is expected to deliver in excess of EUR $5B of annual run rate synergies, incremental to existing Alliance synergies.

Renault’s Response

Renault announced that its board met today to examine the proposal received from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) regarding a potential 50/50 merger between Renault S.A. and Fiat.

Renault said, “After careful review of the terms of FCA’s friendly proposal, the Board of Directors decided to study with interest the opportunity of such a business combination, comforting Groupe Renault’s manufacturing footprint and creating additional value for the Alliance.

A further communication will be issued in due course to inform the market of the results of these discussions, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”

FCAU closed at $12.85. RNLSY closed at $11.18.

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