Autoliv Sells Non-core Business
Autoliv Sells Non-core Business (Stockholm, October 5, 2000) - - Autoliv Inc. (NYSE: ALV) - the worldwide leader in automotive safety systems - announced today that it has completed the sale of its U.S. leadwire business to Tyco Electronics Corporation, a unit of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC; LSE:TYI; BSX:TYC). This divestiture follows upon the sale and closure over the last two years of seven other non-core units with a total of 1,000 employees. In addition to reducing operating costs, these transactions and the sales of two properties have released close to $60 million that was tied up in these assets. The sale of the leadwire business will not have a material effect on Autoliv's earnings. The divested leadwire assembly business produces components for connecting automotive airbags in vehicles. The business had annual sales of approximately $45 million in 1999. "This business has been a good, profitable operation for us, but is not strategic to Autoliv's long-term business plan," said Lars Westerberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Autoliv, Inc.. "By outsourcing this component we should be able to significantly reduce our cost for leadwires and at the same time improve cooperation in product development." Following the sale of the leadwire business to Tyco Electronics, this business will continue to deliver leadwire assemblies to Autoliv's inflator facilities. Autoliv Inc. develops and manufactures automotive safety systems for all major automotive manufacturers in the world. The company has 60 wholly- owned subsidiaries and joint ventures with 27,000 employees in 29 vehicle- producing countries. In addition, the company has eight technical centers around the world, including 19 test tracks, more than any other automotive safety supplier. Sales in 1999 amounted to close to US $3.8 billion and net income US $200 million. The company's shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ALV and its Swedish Depositary Receipts on the OM Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE: ALIV) Inquiries: Mats Ödman, Dir. Corp. Com., Tel. +46 (8) 58 72 06 23, or mob. +46 (708) 32 09 33 Roger Tea, Vice President Human Resources of Autoliv ASP, Tel. (801) 625-9280 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/10/05/20001005BIT00130/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/10/05/20001005BIT00130/bit0002.pdf