French automotive parts manufacturer Plastic Omnium (PO, Levallois; www.plasticomnium.com) has gained full ownership of its HBPO (Lippstadt, Germany; www.hbpogroup.com) subsidiary after acquiring the remaining 33.33% of the shares from lighting specialist Hella (Lippstadt, Germany; www.hella.com) in a deal worth EUR 290 mn.

HBPO was founded in 2004 as a joint venture between Plastic Omnium, Hella and Behr, now Mahle (Stuttgart; www.mahle.com), a German piston manufacturer.

Related: Plastic Omnium profits under pressure

Plastic Omnium increased its stake in HBPO to 66.66% in 2018. The firm said buying the remaining shares from Hella supported its strategy “to increase the value-added content per vehicle, while leveraging the growing demand for electric vehicles.

“The acquisition of the remaining shares will unlock development opportunities and further reinforce Plastic Omnium’s proximity with premium and German OEMs. HBPO headquarters will remain in Lippstadt, where management is located.”

Since its acquisition by France’s Faurecia, Hella has been operating under the Forvia umbrella brand.

Related: Hella’s EBIT almost cut in half