TransNav, a privately-held plastic injection molding company based in New Baltimore, Michigan and with facilities in Kentucky and Mexico, was acquired by France-based Groupe Plastivaloire, a family-controlled and publicly-traded auto components molder with facilities in several European countries as well as Mexico. The transaction closed on Nov. 5, 2018. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
TransNav supplies the automotive, retail and industrial end markets with a variety of products, including molded interior and external trim, wheel trim and fuel tank parts. Another 20 percent of its business comes from nonautomotive parts including shopping carts, packaging products and material handling products. This acquisition gives Plastivaloire, which employs over 5500 workers in 27 global production and development sites, its first United States presence.
Varnum represented TransNav in all aspects of the transaction, including negotiating the purchase and sale agreement and all other legal documents, as well as representing TransNav in connection with antitrust filings. Pete Roth and Jake Droppers led the M&A team which included Chris George (Corporate and M&A), Steve Morren (Real Estate and Antitrust), Zach Meyer (Antitrust) and John Arendshorst (Employee Benefits).
“We were impressed with the quality of work and efficiency of the Varnum team,” said TransNav co-owner Percy Vreeken. “Among other things, they hosted the Plastivaloire team for a week and worked around the clock in order to meet a strict deadline. We’re very happy with the results.”