The US finance company Carlyle Group (Dallas / Texas; www.thecarlylegroup.com) is working on the establishment of a global supplier group to the automotive industry with headquarters in the US. The strategy was introduced with the takeover of the bankrupt Key Plastics LLC (Farmington Hills, Michigan / USA; www.keyplastics.com) in spring 2001 (see PIE 2, 2001). In autumn 2002, the central holding company Key Automotive was founded and embarked on a generous shopping expedition which almost led to the acquisition of TRW Automotive, but it was sold to Blackstone in the end.

In April 2003, Key Automotive, financially supported by Carlyle, bought the financially incapacitated company Breed Technologies Inc. (Lakeland, Florida/USA; www.breedtech.com). Breed is a global producer of airbags, steering wheels and safety belts with a sales volume of EUR 1 bn. In Europe the company has facilities in Britain (2) , Italy (5), Rumania and Hungary.

Following its acquisitions, Key Automotive is now employing 18,000 people and generates a total turnover of USD 1.7 bn. According to press reports, the corporation has plans for other major acquisitions. Carlyle is mentioned as having started negotiations with UIS (Jersey City, New Jersey / USA), another US spare parts producer and supplier for brands such as Champion, STP, Neapco, Wells and Pioneer with a turnover of USD 1 bn.