Schaeffler raises Vitesco offer as it pushes into electric vehicles

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Germany’s billionaire Schaeffler family has increased its offer for Vitesco Technologies as the heirs to the car parts supplier step up efforts to expand their presence in electric vehicles.

Schaeffler, which is controlled by Georg Schaeffler and his mother Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, on Monday said it had lifted its offer for Vitesco to €94 a share from the €91 it bid last month.

The Schaefflers already own 49.9 per cent of Vitesco as well as 46 per cent of German tyremaker Continental.

In a joint statement on Monday, Schaeffler and Vitesco said they had reached agreement over the terms of a deal that would see the businesses combined.

The decision to raise the offer to Vitesco’s remaining shareholders was “made after careful consideration of the prevailing market sentiment, and underscores Schaeffler’s confidence in the significant synergies and the value creation potential” of the deal, the statement said.

The family, which has made its money from Germany’s role as a world-leading carmaker, is uniquely exposed to the industry’s historic switch to EVs — a field in which China has quickly gained dominance.