Stoneridge announced it has completed the sale of its Control Devices segment to an affiliate of Center Rock Capital Partners. The deal carried a base purchase price of $59 million. Stoneridge said it plans to use net cash proceeds, after taxes and transaction-related expenses, to repay debt and strengthen its balance sheet.
The company framed the divestiture as the conclusion of a strategic review and a move to sharpen its focus on core growth platforms, particularly in its Electronics business and Brazil operations. Stoneridge said the transaction reduces complexity and enables it to reallocate capital and resources to initiatives that support long-term performance.
Post-transaction, Stoneridge said its remaining portfolio will center on technology solutions for global commercial vehicle and off-highway end markets. The company outlined three primary product categories it expects to prioritize: Vision and Safety, Connectivity, and Vehicle Intelligence and Electronic Controls. Within Vision and Safety, Stoneridge highlighted continued development and global expansion of its MirrorEye® platform and adjacent technologies, including connected trailer and surround-view capabilities, noting increased program ramp-ups, take-rate growth, and new business awards.
Stoneridge also said it intends to keep expanding its OEM business in Brazil by leveraging global customer relationships and shifting engineering work to a more cost-effective footprint. The company described Stoneridge Brazil as an increasingly important engineering center supporting a broader technology roadmap to enhance existing products and bring new offerings to market.
Stoneridge said the sale gives Control Devices dedicated ownership to pursue its own investment and growth priorities. Following the close, the company expects to amend its existing credit facility by the time it files its full-year 2025 financial results, a step it said is intended to provide time to establish an appropriate post-transaction capital structure.
KEY QUOTES
“This transaction is a critical step in our long-term strategy. As I outlined when we first announced our strategic review, we are seeing record-breaking business wins in several of our core growth platforms in both Electronics and Stoneridge Brazil. To support and accelerate these growth opportunities, we will now be able to dedicate our capital and resources to these businesses to drive future growth. As a result of this transaction, Stoneridge will be more focused and less complex, which in turn, is expected to create stronger shareholder returns and significantly de-risk our overall business profile,”
“Stoneridge’s remaining portfolio will be focused on technology solutions primarily for the global commercial vehicle and off-highway end markets. More specifically, Stoneridge will serve three primary product categories: Vision and Safety, Connectivity, and Vehicle Intelligence and Electronic Controls, each with their own significant growth opportunities. We expect continued expansion of our Vision and Safety systems, including MirrorEye® and adjacent products and advanced technologies, through maturity of our existing products and the introduction of new products to the market, including our connected trailer and surround-view capabilities. As discussed on our recent earnings calls, MirrorEye continues to expand across the world through the ramp-up of existing programs, increasing take rates and record new business awards. This, coupled with our full suite of products and technologies, will allow us to drive expansion of our capabilities focused on the cockpit of the future and domain integration. We own a significant amount of real estate within the cockpit of commercial vehicles, and plan to utilize this real estate to bring advanced technology to our customers that will help differentiate their vehicles, improve vehicle safety and efficiency, and provide opportunities for long-term profitable growth for the Company.”
“Finally, we continue to grow our OEM business in Brazil by leveraging our global relationships and industry-leading technologies. Similarly, by continuing to rotate our global engineering footprint to take advantage of a more cost-effective structure, Stoneridge Brazil has become a critical engineering center for our business. As a result, we will continue to drive global growth and invest in the resources required to advance our capabilities within a more cost-efficient structure. As we continue to invest in these capabilities, we have generated a robust technology roadmap that will both enhance and expand on our existing products and bring new products and technologies to the market. We expect this to drive growth that significantly outpaces our weighted average end markets resulting in shareholder value creation.”
“The sale of Control Devices to Center Rock will allow that business to have dedicated ownership to focus on its specific needs, invest more deeply and facilitate new growth avenues for its employees and customers. Control Devices has a proud history within Stoneridge, and over the past decade we’ve made significant strides to evolve its technology portfolio, improve its operational processes, and enhance its market positions. We wish the Control Devices team continued success as they continue to grow the business.”
Jim Zizelman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Stoneridge
