Autoliv Moves Forward with Divestiture Plan

Autoliv Inc.’s board of directors has approved plans to spin off its Electronics unit into a stand-alone business focused on emerging driver-assist and autonomous vehicle technologies.

The divestiture, which was announced in September, is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2018. Autoliv has been reporting financial results for its Electronics unit separately from the company’s core Passive Safety business, which accounts for nearly 80% of total sales, since the beginning of 2016.

Autoliv’s Electronics business includes radar, camera, night vision, restraint control and brake systems. As part of the split, Autoliv says it will make an unspecified investment into the Electronics unit to help boost its financial rating.

The supplier says the spinoff reflects growing differences between the Electronics and Passive Safety businesses. These include expected divergent paces of technology advancements, sales growth, operational synergies, employee skill sets, investment needs and potentially different shareholder profiles.

Following the separation, the Electronics unit will be renamed. The Safety business will continue to operate under the Autoliv name. Both companies will be based in Stockholm.