Magna International
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| Type | Public (NYSE: MGA) (TSX: MG) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1957 |
| Headquarters | Aurora, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | Donald Walker, co-CEO Siegfried Wolf, co-CEO Vincent J. Galifi, Executive VP & CFO |
| Industry | Automotive systems, components and modules |
| Products | See products listing. |
| Revenue | $23.704 billion USD (2008)[1] |
| Operating income | $328 million USD (2008)[1] |
| Net income | $71 million USD (2008)[1] |
| Employees | 74,000 (Mar '09)[1] |
| Website | www.magna.com |
Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG) is a Canadian company based in Aurora, Ontario. It is Canada's largest automobile parts manufacturer, and one of the country's largest companies. It owns the successful Magna Steyr automobile production company of Austria.
The company was founded in 1957 by the Austrian-born Frank Stronach as Multimatic. This company merged with Magna Electronics in 1969, and the combined company became Magna International in 1973.
On May 30, 2009, it was announced that a deal had been reached to transfer General Motors Corporation (GM)-owned Opel and Vauxhall assets to a separate company majority-owned by a consortium led by Magna International.[2][3]
Magna also manufactures auto parts that are primarily supplied to GM, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler LLC. In addition to the Big 3 U.S. automakers, Magna's major customers include Volkswagen, BMW and Toyota. In Europe, Magna Steyr holds contracts for the assembly of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler Voyager minivan and BMW X3 SUV. Magna has a relatively minimal presence in Asia with just 3 manufacturing centres in South Korea, 1 in Kunshan, China and 2 engineering centres in South Korea and China.[4]
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[edit] Acquisitions
Magna acquired 80% of New Venture Gear, once a joint-venture between General Motors and Chrysler, in September 2004, and combined it into Magna Powertrain. It assumed full ownership in 2007.
Magna purchased CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme, the world's leading supplier of convertible roofs, from Porsche in November 2005.
The Sunday Telegraph (Psychic Division) in London reported January 7, 2008 that Magna International was on the short list of bidders to purchase Aston Martin Lagonda Limited from Ford Motor Company. Their bid was unsuccessful however, and the company instead went to a British consortium led by Dave Richards of Prodrive for £479 million.[5]
According to a NPR broadcast on March 23, 2007, Magna showed interest in acquiring the Chrysler division of DaimlerChrysler. However on 14 May, 2007, it was announced that Cerberus Capital Management had won the acquisition bid for $7.4 billion.
In April 2008, Magna's wholly owned subsidiary, Cosma International, announced that they were buying the Ogihara America Corp. stamping plant in Birmingham, Alabama, that makes parts for Mercedes-Benz and other automakers.[6]
[edit] Opel
On May 26 2009, BBC online reported that German government is considering 3 proposals for acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall including a Russian-backed bid from Magna.[7] On May 29 2009, CNN online reported that Fiat has pulled out of Opel/Vauxhall acquisition talks leaving Magna as the only contender. [8] The German government later backed the deal.[9]
On 30 May 2009, it was announced that a deal had been reached to transfer GM's Opel assets to a separate company majority-owned by a consortium led by Sberbank of Russia (35%), Magna International of Canada (20%), and Opel employees and car dealers (10%). GM is expected to keep a 35% minority stake in the new company.[10][11] Less than a month later, however, GM indicated that it has not yet closed the deal with Magna and is considering other late bids, including one from Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation. [12]
Magna's plans for Opel include attracting GM or third-party carmakers to build their cars and electric vehicles in Antwerp. [13] If Opel needed to reduce production of its own core models then any unused capacity could be used to manufacture vehicles for other carmakers. Inside sources close to Magna revealed that some of the possible third party carmakers include Ford and PSA Peugeot Citroen. [14]
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[edit] Operations
Magna employs 83,000 employees at 240 manufacturing operations in 24 countries around the world. Magna supports these operations with 62 engineering and R&D centres in 14 countries[4]. Its largest operations region is Canada with 61 manufacturing operations and 8 engineering centres.
[edit] Products and services
Magna's products and services include:
- Automotive interior and closure components
- Metal body systems, components, assemblies and modules
- Exterior and interior mirror and engineered glass systems
- Fascias
- Front and rear end modules
- Plastic body panels
- Exterior trim components and systems
- Greenhouse and sealing systems
- Roof modules and retractable/convertible tops
- Lighting components
- Engine, transmission and fueling systems and components
- Drivetrain components (New Venture Gear)
- Complete vehicle engineering and assembly through Magna Steyr.
- Aftermarket products (booster seats and deck sound/lighting systems)
- Complete seating systems
[edit] Electric vehicles
[edit] Subsystems
It bolstered its efforts by buying a Michigan-based company that focuses on propulsion and energy management for electric vehicles. The company is developing an entire range of components for the car, from electric engines to heating systems, which are originally made to run off internal combustion engines (ICE). Its Electronics unit bought BluWav Systems LLC [15].
[edit] Electric vehicle development
Magna International Inc. has joined the race to develop a plug-in hybrid car and plans to have a prototype on the road in 2009 or 2010.[16] It could supply any or all of the electric vehicle's subsystems to a carmaker, and could also supply an electric vehicle concept.[17] This has change after the acquisition of Opel and Magna can offer the electric vehicle by itself.
A few months after a round of preliminary discussions with Ford Motor Company with regard to all-electric (BEV) vehicles, Magna made a surprise visit[18] to Ford in August 2008 to demonstrate a Ford Focus it had procured and converted to battery operation on its own time and expense.[19] The result was a contract to supply an electric drivetrain for the North American version of the 2011 all-electric Focus.[20]
[edit] Political connections
The firm is also known for its political connections, such as having former Premiers of Ontario on its board, as well as connections with numerous other former politicians. Some politicians who have had notable positions with Magna include Mike Harris and Brian Tobin. In 1988, Frank Stronach ran as a candidate for parliament for the federal Liberal Party, but was defeated.
In 2004, Stronach's daughter and former company head Belinda Stronach ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party. While she failed in her bid for the leadership of the party, she was elected in her riding (Newmarket-Aurora) in the 2004 federal election. In May 2005 she crossed the floor to sit in Paul Martin's cabinet for the Liberal Party of Canada. In the Federal Election of January 23, 2006 Belinda Stronach won the Newmarket-Aurora riding for the Liberal Party. She instead decided to sit the contest out, and on April 11, 2007 announced she would no longer run in the next election as an MP in parliament. She continued to sit as an MP until the fall of 2008.
On March 18, 2005, former United States ambassador to Canada and former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci joined Magna as a vice-president of its entertainment division. Cellucci resigned his position on July 5, 2006.
[edit] Ontario "Magna budget"
Magna International has also been noted for its connections to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and the Ontario Liberal Party. In 2003, the Progressive Conservatives under Ernie Eves presented the provincial budget at a Magna plant leading to accusations that the government was violating centuries of parliamentary tradition. It is believed that this decision had a negative impact on the Progressive Conservatives in the next provincial election.
[edit] Corporate governance
Current members of the board of directors of Magna International are: William Fike, Manfred Gingl, Mike Harris, Edward Lumley, Klaus Mangold, Donald Resnick, Royden Richardson, Frank Stronach, Franz Vranitzky, and Siegfried Wolf.
The board of directors of the company formerly included Belinda Stronach. Siegfried Wolf's pay for the 2004 fiscal year was $4.78 million USD [3].
[edit] Sponsorships
Magna was the principal sponsor of FK Austria Wien, one of Vienna's two major soccer clubs.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Google Finance - Company Profile for Magna International Inc". http://www.google.com/finance?q=TSE:MG.A.
- ^ http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/opelkonzept102.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8074924.stm
- ^ a b National Post, Tues Nov 13 2007, page FP6
- ^ BBC News Article
- ^ Ogihara America sells local auto supply plant - Birmingham Business Journal
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8074924.stm
- ^ "Germany picks Magna to save Opel". BBC News. May 30, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8074924.stm.
- ^ Weber, Tim (May 30, 2009). "Analysis: Opel's survival still at stake". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8075157.stm.
- ^ http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2009/06/25/467151.html
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKTRE54S4GG20090529?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=10482
- ^ http://www.motorauthority.com/report-magna-considers-using-opel-to-build-cars-for-other-brands.html
- ^ http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=101846&topicId=104970025&docId=l:873615076
- ^ reportonbusiness.com: Magna’s next car to be powered by electricity
- ^ http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=101846&topicId=104970025&docId=l:873615076
- ^ http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1018261_ford-and-magna-international-to-partner-on-electric-vehicle
- ^ http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090202/AUTO01/902020354/1148/rss25
- ^ http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/20/autos/ford_electric/index.htm
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2008) |
[edit] External links
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