Report: ZF Bid for TRW Stuck on Talks to End Bosch Venture

ZF Friedrichshafen AG's efforts to extract itself from an existing venture with Robert Bosch GmbH are slowing its plan to acquire TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., according to Bloomberg News.

Unnamed sources tell the news service that ZF hopes to reach agreement with TRW on a sale by mid-September.

But Bloomberg says the deal hinges in part on ZF exiting its 15-year-old, 50:50 steering-systems venture with Bosch. TRW's products include steering systems, and the ZF-Bosch partnership bars each company from competing in that business if it dissolves the alliance.

Bloomberg's sources say ZF's bid could collapse if the company fails to raise enough money by selling its stake in the Bosch venture, which generates annual revenue of about €4.1 billion.

TRW's shares currently are trading at about $100, giving the company a value of about $11 billion. ZF and TRW have been talking about a sale at $105-$110 per share, according to Bloomberg's sources. It says ZF also has been exploring a bid as high as $112.50 per share.