Wilbur Ross Shows Interest in Collins & Aikman Cor
New York, NY, September 16, 2005--Investor Wilbur Ross, known for buying ailing companies and turning them around, expressed an interest on Thursday in bankrupt auto parts supplier Collins & Aikman Corp.'s U.S. units.
Collins & Aikman filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States in May with its European companies moving into administration in mid-July.
"We would be interested in bidding if Collins & Aikman in the U.S. were to come up for sale," Ross told Reuters in a telephone interview.
"We are looking at many of these distressed [auto parts companies] that have some kind of proprietary technology and some scale of size."
Collins & Aikman spokesman David Youngman declined to comment on the report about Ross, who has provided financing for the company's administration proceeding in Europe.
Ross is not alone in expressing interest in acquiring part or all of Collins & Aikman, which supplies parts on about 90 percent of vehicles.
Auto interiors supplier Lear Corp. in August expressed interest in forming a joint venture that would combine the companies' interior components businesses. Privately held Plastech Engineered Products Inc. has also expressed interest in making a formal offer for the company.
Bank lenders, creditors, customers and others are reviewing the business plan Collins & Aikman created. The court also has granted the company an additional 120 days in which it has the sole right to file a reorganization plan.
The company's largest automaker customers have agreed to provide loans, pay more for parts and fund capital needs to keep it running through September. The company is in the process of renegotiating its contracts with customers.
