Italy’s Brembo Still Ready for M&A After Ohlins Deal

(Reuters) -Brembo’s acquisition of suspension technology manufacturer Ohlins Racing, its biggest ever, will not prevent the Italian premium brake maker from assessing further and larger M&A deals, its top executive said on Thursday.

Brembo, which earlier on Thursday presented broadly stable results for the first nine months of this year, in October announced the $405 million cash purchase of Swedish-based Ohlins in a deal expected to be finalised in early 2025.

Before that the company moved its legal headquarters to the Netherlands to strengthen its loyalty share scheme and increase its ability to capitalise on M&A opportunities.

Executive Chairman Matteo Tiraboschi said that after the headquarters move, Brembo had all the tools needed for potential M&A deals of any size, although it had no specific targets.

“We continue to carefully observe what happens on the market. If we find opportunities that fit with Brembo, we don’t want to be constrained by the financial side of the deal,” Tiraboschi told Reuters in a post-earnings interview.

Brembo, which is controlled by the Bombassei family with a stake of around 70%, in the past said it was looking for opportunities for an acquisition of “significant size”, even as big as the company itself.

FORECAST TRIMMED

The Bergamo-based company trimmed forecasts for its full-year revenues and core profit margin only slightly, despite ongoing “sever difficulties” faced by the wide automotive industry.

Earlier on Thursday Nissan Motor said it would cut 9,000 jobs and 20% of its global manufacturing capacity, adding to a similar cost-cutting move by European rival Volkswagen and a string of profit warnings from automakers.

Brembo, whose clients include premium automakers such as Tesla, BMW and Ferrari, guided for a margin on its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 17% in 2024, versus a previous forecast “in line” with that of 2023, when the margin came in at 17.3%.

Its Milan-listed shares were up 2.6% by 1625 GMT.

Brembo also said its full-year revenue would be in line with that of 2023, versus a previous forecast for a “moderate” growth.

In the January-September period, its EBITDA amounted to 501.1 million euros ($540.8 million), from 500.2 million euros a year earlier, with margin coming in at 17.1%. ($1 = 0.9266 euros)

(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani and Giulio Piovaccari; editing by David Goodman and Keith Weir)