A Goodwin cross-border team represented Mecaplast Group (Mecaplast) in its announced agreement to acquire Key Plastics Corporation, in which Mecaplast will expand its presence in key markets including the United States, Germany and China, and diversify its customer portfolio. The combined Mecaplast and Key Plastics groups will service all major global automotive manufacturers from facilities in virtually every major international market, offering its diversified customer base a broad portfolio of product capabilities from a truly global manufacturing footprint. The closing of the transaction is subject to approvals by competition authorities in certain countries and other customary closing conditions.
Headquartered in Clamart, France, the Mecaplast Group designs and manufactures plastic parts and complete systems for vehicle engine and body, generates €735M in sales, and employs more than 6,000 employees in 28 plants and eight skill and technical centers located in 18 countries. Since April 2016, Mecaplast has been majority owned by funds managed by Equistone Partners Europe, a leading pan-European private equity investor.
Key Plastics Corporation, headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, designs, manufactures and assembles high value add automotive interior, exterior and under-the-hood plastic components through operations in 11 plants and three technical centers located in seven countries. Key Plastics is majority owned by private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners LLC, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based registered investment adviser.
The Goodwin team was led by partners Ilan Nissan, Maxence Bloch and Jared Spitalnick (Private Equity) and included associates Chi Pan, Simon Servan-Schreiber, Aurélien Diday (Private Equity), partner Eric Willenbacher (Tax) and partner Jordan Weiss (Litigation).