ArvinMeritor to sell its APA joint venture shares to Kayaba

ArvinMeritor, Inc. announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 75 percent shareholdings in AP Amortiguadores, S.A. (APA) to joint venture partner Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. In 1989, ArvinMeritor acquired shares in the joint venture company, which manufactures shock absorbers for the global automotive market. The sale is subject to regulatory approval, and terms of the transaction were not disclosed."ArvinMeritor is steadfast in its pursuit of becoming a market leader of integrated suspension systems and modules for the light vehicle market," said Sidney Del Gaudio, ArvinMeritor Light Vehicle Systems (LVS) vice president and general manager of Undercarriage. "By divesting the APA shares we solely focus our more than 100 years of ride control expertise and resources on designing and producing the next generation of ArvinMeritor suspension system technologies."AP Amortiguadores, S.A. has more than 780 employees in two locations: Pamplona (Ororbia), Spain and Curitiba (Fazenda do Rio Grande), Brazil. In October 2001, ArvinMeritor dissolved its North American joint venture with Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. Today's announcement marks the company's final step to solely own and further develop ArvinMeritor's ride control technologies.