The Indian Ruia group (Calcutta) has acquired Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems UK (Coalville, Leicestershire / UK) from a subsidiary of the private equity company CVC Capital Partners (www.cvc.com). Terms were not disclosed. With the deal, the company has reverted to its original name of Schlegel Automotive Europe. It was the last company of automotive OEM supplier Metzeler in Europe to be sold. Cooper-Standard Automotive (Novi, Michigan / USA; www.cooperstandard.com) acquired the other units in 2007.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ruia's group chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia said Schlegel Europe’s new wholly owned subsidiary Schlegel Automotive India will build a plant in India. Production is to begin within a year at location the company said has not been finalised. Plans are to set up a central mixing and extrusion facility as well as several decentralised production cells at OEM customers. Schlegel/Ruia will invest USD 15m in India and an additional USD 6-7m in a UK expansion.

Schlegel is regarded as one of the largest manufacturers of automotive sealing systems, mostly of thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs). The company supplies primarily BMW and Bentley, but also many Asian OEMs. In 2007, the former Metzeler arm, which has a workforce of 450, posted sales equivalent to EUR 50m (EUR 35m in 2006).

Ruia is mainly active in the tyre business through its stake in Dunlop India and other manufacturers. The Ruia Chemicals division (Calcutta / India; www.ruiachemicals.com) manufacturers polyester and vinyl ester resin systems as well as glass-fibre-reinforced pipes.