Visteon Offers to Buy Remaining Stake in Halla

Visteon Corp. has launched a 913 billion-won ($805 million) tender offer for the 30% South Korea's Halla Climate Control Corp. it doesn't already own. The offer represents a 14% premium to the previous closing price of Halla shares.

The offer, which expires on June 24, is contingent on the tender of at least 26.7 million of Halla's 32 million outstanding shares, which would bring Visteon's stake to at least 95%. Visteon says Korea's National Pension Service, which owns 9.8% of Halla, has not yet decided whether to sell its stock.

The deal would create the second-largest supplier in the climate-control segment after Denso Corp., according to Visteon. It estimates that integrating Halla with its climate-control operations would result in savings of about $20 million in the first full year. The U.S. company plans to retain Hella's brand name and Korean management team.

Separately, Visteon says a deal to sell the majority of its interiors unit to its Shanghai-based joint venture with Huayu Automotive Systems Co. collapsed because of uncertainty about the European auto market. Visteon says it will explore creating a new joint venture with another party or selling some of the interiors business.