General Motors Corp. announced on June 28 it will sell its Allison Transmission commercial and military business to The Carlyle Group and Onex Corp. for approximately $5.6 billion.
The sale includes seven manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Ind. and its worldwide distribution network and sales offices. The production facility in Baltimore, Md. which is dedicated to the production of conventional and hybrid 2MODE transmissions used in GM's retail pick-up trucks and SUVs will remain with GM.
Allison Transmission designs and manufacturers automatic transmissions for medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles. Its products are used in on-highway, off-highway and vehicles. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Allison Transmission employs approximately 3,400 people. The company generates annual revenues in excess of $2 billion.
"This is another important step to strengthen our liquidity and provide resources to support our heavy investments in new products and technology," said Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO. "At the same time, this sale will position Allison for growth with strong partners in Carlyle and Onex, which have well-established track records of working effectively with their management teams, unions and employees," Wagoner added.
The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $58.5 billion under management. Carlyle invests in buyouts, venture & growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Asia, Europe and North America, focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. Onex Corp. of Canada has 184,000 employees worldwide with annual revenue of C$30 billion. It makes private equity investments through its Onex Partners and ONCAP family of Funds.
