Deal Announcement 05/20: Engineering & Construction/Automotive

The Deal

The PwC M&A is pleased to announce the successful Closing of Project STAR, the acquisition of RBI GmbH (“RBI”) and LEAS GmbH (“LEAS”) by JRC Mobility Inc. (“JRC”) a subsidiary of Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. (Nisshinbo). PwC M&A acted as exclusive financial advisor to JRC on this transaction.

PwC M&A assisted JRC throughout the entire transaction process in project management, coordination of the due diligence as well as negotiation and strategic advice. In addition to the M&A services, PwC provided financial, commercial, HR as well as tax due diligence services.

RBI GmbH

RBI GmbH was founded in 1994 by Roman Berner and is headquartered in Heimsheim, Germany. With a workforce of approximately 100 employees, mainly engineers, the company provides engineering services, hardware and software solutions with a focus on automotive infotainment testing.

LEAS GmbH

Headquartered in Heimsheim, Germany, LEAS was a former business unit of RBI and was spun off in January 2017. LEAS offers logistics and assembly services. The acquisition will enable LEAS to grow its logistics and assembly business for the Japanese and Korean markets.

JRC Mobility Inc.

Established in 2018 out of Japan Radio Co. Ltd., JRC Mobility Inc. is a communications technology company in Japan and acts a subsidiary of Nisshinbo. JRC Mobility mainly develops millimeter radar for vehicle collision avoidance systems, ultrasound sensors for parking-assist systems and other products in the ADAS field.

Nisshinbo Holdings Inc.

Nisshinbo, established in 1917 in Japan, employs over 22,000 people worldwide. Nisshinbo is the world’s largest manufacturer of brake pads in the automotive industry. Furthermore, the company engages in a diverse line of businesses that includes electronic, mechatronics, chemicals, textiles, papers and real estate.

PwC

The global PricewaterhouseCoopers network is a worldwide association of independent auditing and consulting companies which together employ more than 250,000 people in 158 countries. Our global network comprises nearly 1,550 M&A professionals all over the world, realising approx. 400 successful transactions per year. We specialise in a wide range of independent M&A services including advice on acquisitions and disposals, mergers, public takeovers, privatisations as well as structured financing.

PwC M&A acted as exclusive financial advisor to JRC Mobility Inc. on the acquisition of RBI GmbH and LEAS GmbH. The transaction team comprised Shigeru Harada (Partner), Alexander Knögel (Director), Ken Someya (Senior Manager) and Malte Bischoping (Senior Associate).