Preh team up with TechniSat on the way to becoming a global player for car infotainment, connectivity and telematics
Ningbo (China)/Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale/Daun. The Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., Ningbo (China) and its subsidiary Preh Holding GmbH, Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale are each taking over 50 % of the TechniSat Automotive division from TechniSat Digital GmbH, Daun. The parties signed an according contract on January 29, 2016. Within the Joyson Group, TechniSat Automotive will be operated in the Automotive Electronics division together with Preh GmbH as Preh TechniSat Car Connect GmbH.
The takeover represents a sustainable strengthening and competence expansion of the Preh Group to create a globally present systems provider in the automotive sector. With the combined competences of Preh and TechniSat Automotive, Joyson is forming a technology group with a sales volume of over a billion Euros that can develop into a global player for car connectivity and human machine interface systems (HMI). The approximately 1,200 employees at TechniSat Automotive will be taken over. Likewise, the TechniSat development locations in Dresden, San Carlos/California (USA) and Shanghai (China), as well as the production sites in Dippach/Thuringia and Oborniki (Poland) and an operative location in Daun will all be retained. The contractual parties agreed not to divulge details of the transaction. The takeover is subject to approval by the relevant authorities. In future, TechniSat Digital GmbH, Daun will focus on its Consumer Electronics division and independently develop that field further.
TechniSat Automotive develops and produces innovative products and software solutions in the fields of car infotainment, navigation, vehicle networking and telematics. As a direct supplier to the automotive industry (Tier 1), the company has many years’ experience as a development partner for navigation systems for renowned automobile manufacturers, especially for the Volkswagen Group. TechniSat Automotive’s competences include many years of experience in software solutions for tuners and telematics.
Following the agreement, Jeff Wang, founder and majority shareholder of Joyson, stated: “We’re beginning a new chapter in the Joyson growth story. The takeover of TechniSat Automotive moves our already highly successful Automotive Electronics activities into a new dimension. The competences of Preh and TechniSat Automotive complement each other ideally and open up new mutual business potential. We will integrate the renowned Preh car HMI concepts with TechniSat Automotive’s successful telematics and infotainment in innovative overall solutions. That creates new opportunities for the comprehensive networking of vehicles and brings us a decisive step closer to the Joyson vision of a ‘Connected Car’. I’m convinced that the take-over represents a win-win situation for both Preh and TechniSat.”
The founder and Managing Director of TechniSat Automotive, Peter Lepper, stated: “For us the key was to find an investor that had both the technical knowhow and the broad customer base to develop our automotive business further in a forward-looking way. The international competitive position of TechniSat Automotive is sustainably strengthened through the investor Joyson and the operative partner Preh. The medium sized cultural imprints of the companies also suit each other very well. In that respect, the new partnership offers good prospects for TechniSat Automotive employees. At the same time, TechniSat Digital GmbH will now focus completely the Consumer Electronics division and expand it further.”
TechniSat Automotive customers will retain their familiar contacts. Furthermore, the fact that the Managing Director of the new Preh TechniSat Car Connect GmbH is Peter Kohlschmidt, who was hitherto the TechniSat Managing Director responsible for Automotive business, ensures maximum continuity. Peter Kohlschmidt stated: “We warmly welcome the fact that we have been taken over by the Joyson Group, a financially powerful strategic investor that will drive our worldwide growth forward. At the same time, I regard having such a strong partner in Preh to be a great opportunity, with its impressive international footprint, but also because like us it has a medium-sized business character. We will mutually benefit from the new partnership with respect to product portfolios, internationalization and customer access.”
The Preh CEO Christoph Hummel said: “We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues from TechniSat Automotive and welcome them to the Joyson Group. We at Preh value the high level of technological competence and innovative drive at TechniSat Automotive and are convinced we ‘speak the same language’ in terms of business understanding and technological trends. With the support of our partner Joyson, we will exploit new business potential and achieve successful international growth.” According to Hummel, instead of being a classic synergy theme, the takeover is far more a perfect combination of technological competences and market access.
