Sona Group to acquire Japanese partner's stake in Sona BLW Precision Forgings  

In line with its plan to further drive growth in its precision forgings business, the Rs 4,500 crore Sona Group has signed an agreement to acquire the entire 25 percent stake of its Japanese partner Mitsubishi Materials Corporation in Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (SBPFL). 

The company, which has an annual turnover of around Rs 2,400 crore, is the flagship company of the Sona Group. The acquisition of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation’s stake will give Sona Group’s holding company 100 percent ownership of Sona BLW Precision Forgings.

Commenting on the decision, Sunjay Kapur, CEO of the Sona Group (pictured above), said: “We are moving ahead rapidly to cement our global leadership position in the precision forging business. We are grateful to Mitsubishi Materials for having partnered with us as we explored, researched and developed new materials, processes and technologies for next-generation driveline components. They have agreed to our suggestion to buy out their stake. This transaction is a step in a transformational phase in Sona's journey. As a totally private company, Sona BLW Precision Forgings can now delve deeper into R&D and make significant commitments and investments into the future of the global precision forgings business.”

“The global automotive industry is in a stage of transition fuelled by the demand for green mobility and e-mobility. There is more change expected to happen in the next 10 years than has happened in the last 50 years in the automotive world. This wave of change opens up new frontiers for our industry to invest in automation, technology and skill upgradation to design future-ready products and components. We wish to seize the opportunity to further consolidate our global market share  by building products around our patented forging technology,” Kapur added.

How Sona BLW stacks up
Sona BLW, previously known as Sona Okegawa, was set up in 1995 as a 75:25 JV partnership between Sona Autocomp Holdings and Mitsubishi Materials. In 2008, it acquired the precision forging business of ThyssenKrupp, which had earlier had taken over the business of BLW, the Munich-based global pioneer of warm forging technology manufacturing high precision forging components for cars, trucks, agricultural applications and construction equipment makers. This acquisition gave Sona global customers and access to patented German technology. Sona brought to the business its knowledge of Japanese manufacturing processes and in-house engineering capability. This new company was rechristened Sona BLW in 2013.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings has 7 plants spread over India, Germany and Hungary and employs over 2,300 people worldwide. Sona BLW and its German and Hungarian subsidiaries manufacture near-net-shaped gears (bevel gears),  precision forged speed gears, synchroniser rings,  e-axles,  and differential assemblies for automotive and other applications.

The company’s key global customers include OEMs such as Daimler, Volkswagen Group, Renault, MAN, Scania, BMW, Porsche and Caterpillar among others. Sona BLW’s Indian arm also supplies to OEMs in the passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and tractor segments like Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE, Escorts, Volvo Eicher, ITL and Bharat Benz. The Indian company also has significant exports to leading global automotive players such as John Deere, American Axle, Linamar, CNH, Carraro and DANA.