TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. Inks $13.5 Billion Buyout Deal

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. TRW agreed to be acquired for $105.60 per share by the privately-held German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

TRW traded recently at $102.97, down 0.85 percent.

The $13.5 billion deal is expected to close in the first half of 2015, and will result in a company with combined sales of about $41 billion and 138,000 employees. ZF disclosed earlier this summer that it was in talks with TRW about a possible acquisition.

ZF, based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, expects to finance its acquisition with cash on hand and borrowings from Citi and Deutsche Bank under an existing credit agreement.

TRW Chairman John C. Plant said shareholders will obtain "full and certain value" while employees will "reap the benefits" of being part of a larger organization.

Separately Monday, ZF Friedrichshafen agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in ZF Steering Systems to its joint venture partner Germany's Bosch company to address antitrust issues expected to stem from the TRW deal. Price wasn't disclosed.

The steering unit had 2013 sales of $5.31 billion in sales and more than 13,000 employees in eight countries in 2013.

Last week, TRW agreed to sell its engine valve business for $385 million in cash to Federal-Mogul Holdings Corp.