For Automotive Electronics Biz
It has been found that LG Electronics and LG Corporation recently participated in the tender for the sale of ZKW, an Austrian manufacturer of automotive lighting products. The size of the deal is estimated at over one trillion won. LG Electronics said on August 29 that nothing can be said for sure about its acquisition of ZKW although it has examined various options in preparing to launch new businesses.
The Austrian automotive lighting manufacturer was established in 1938 and its clients include BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi, Volkswagen, Volvo and Ford. Its sales jumped from 280 million euros to 968.5 million euros between 2010 and last year.
At present, the global automotive lighting market is being led by ZKW, SL Corporation and Ichiko. LG Electronics can become a major player in the market once it takes over ZKW. Then, the LG Group’s automotive electronics business can get a boost. LG Electronics set up its Vehicle Component (VC) Division in 2013 to beef up the automotive electronics business of the group.
LG Electronics’ acquisition of ZKW is expected to create a synergy effect as well in that the other subsidiaries of the group are producing related products. For example, LG Chem, LG Display and LG Hausys are currently supplying electric vehicle batteries, displays for use in vehicles, and interior and exterior parts for use in vehicles, respectively.