Rolls-Royce welcomes the decision by the Board of Management of Daimler AG to exercise the put option relating to its 50% shareholding in Rolls-Royce Power Systems (RRPS).
Rolls-Royce will acquire the shares from Daimler, which has been a 50-50 joint venture partner in RRPS since 2011. The option, which is subject to a formal valuation process, was valued at 1.9bn on the Rolls-Royce balance sheet at Dec 31st 2013. Rolls-Royce has ample liquidity to fund this purchase from existing cash and borrowing facilities.
RRPS, which previously operated as Tognum AG reciprocating engines. It is headquartered in Friedrichshafen in Southern Germany and employs around 11,000 people.
John Rishton, CEO of Rolls-Royce said: “Rolls-Royce Power Systems has added scale and capability to our reciprocating engines business. It has outstanding technology, operates in long term growth markets and has proved a valuable addition to our Marine and Industrial Power Systems division.“
Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG said: “After the very successful cooperation with Rolls-Royce and the positive development of RRPS, we are now taking the next logical step and are transferring our shares to our joint-venture partner. All parties involved will benefit from this move, especially RRPS and its workforce.“
This transaction is expected to complete within the next 6-months and is subject to the usual regulatory approvals.
Source: Rolls-Royce
