Keystone-SDA
Aebi Schmidt is merging with the American automobile design company The Shyft Group and entering the New York Stock Exchange (Nasdaq), the Zurich manufacturer of vehicles for difficult terrain announced on Monday.
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December 16, 2024 – 3:26 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) The latter thus takes the majority of the joint venture with 52% of the shares. This merger, which is scheduled to be finalized in mid-2025, gives birth to the “world leader in the production of special vehicles”, with a turnover of around 2 billion dollars, says Aebi Schmidt in a press release.
It will be carried out by exchange of shares, with Shyft shareholders exchanging their shares for shares of Aebi Schmidt. as Shyft is already listed on the stock exchange, the new company will also be listed “for pragmatic reasons”.
A second listing in Switzerland is currently not planned, its boss Barend Fruithof, who remains in office, told the AWP agency.
The company will still have its headquarters in Frauenfeld, in the canton of Thurgau, which was a condition for the merger according to its managing director. The name of the combined company is not yet clear, he said. Various possibilities are being explored and it is likely that the Shyft name will be one of them in one form or another. But abbreviations are also possible, according to the company manager.
Aebi Schmidt will represent a total of six of the eleven members of the board of directors. Mr. Fruithof will serve as vice-chairman of the board of directors, while the role of chairman will be assumed by the current chairman of Shyft, James Sharman. Aebi Schmidt’s core shareholders, Peter Spuhler and Gero Büttiker, who hold 35% and 13% of the company respectively, will continue to be present after the merger.
40 sites in the United States
Mr Fruithof emphasizes that the merger was carried out “from a position of strength” and still sees growth opportunities in the US market, as Europe is currently a bit weak. “With this transaction, we strengthen the sites in Europe, because we obtain other points of sale for European products in the United States,” he adds. A reduction of positions in Europe and Switzerland is therefore not on the agenda, according to him.
Thanks to the acquisition, the new company now has 70 sites around the world, including 40 in the United States. The combined revenue of the two companies is expected to reach around $2 billion this year, with adjusted gross operating profit (Ebitda), including synergies, of around $200 million.
In 2024, the revenues of Aebi Schmidt alone are expected to amount to around 1 billion euros, as well as an EBIT of over 80 million with a related margin of over 8% while the company currently has entry orders worth more than a billion euros.
The Swiss company was taken over in 2006 by Mr. Spuhler and merged in 2007 with the Schmidt company, based in southern Germany. Until now, the group generated 50% of its turnover in Europe and 50% in the United States. From now on, it will generate around 70% of its revenues in the United States, according to Mr. Fruithof.
