Schaeffler Group is in talks with potential Chinese investors over a stake sale, German magazine WirtschaftsWoche reported.
Schaeffler*Chinese investors*automotive parts supplier*Continental AG*Beijing

 

Schaeffler, which faces a huge debt following its takeover of automotive parts supplier Continental AG, is in discussions over the stake sale to strengthen its finances.

 

Schaeffler is talking with Beijing's municipal government and has offered Beijing access to its know-how and distribution channels, WirtschaftsWoche said, citing industry sources in Beijing.

 

Schaeffler has invested in China since 1998 with its INA, FAG and LuK brands. The group has 4,000 employees, an r&d center, five factories and 19 sales offices in China.

 

"We have always said that we would speak to potential investors," a Schaeffler spokesman was quoted as saying by WirtschaftsWoche.

 

No one at Schaeffler's headquarters in Germany was immediately available to comment.

 

Hou Li, spokeswoman of Schaeffler Holding (China) Co., says she didn't receive any such information from Schaeffler Group.

 

Last July, Schaeffler launched a hostile $18 billion bid to buy Continental but ended up collecting more shares than it could afford, lumbering it with debt as car sales collapsed.