Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) secured a 15 percent stake in SGL Carbon SE (SGL), adding to a 29 percent holding controlled by BMW heiress Susanne Klatten, in a move that keeps rival Volkswagen AG (VOW) at bay.
BMW bought 5.2 percent of the shares directly and controls an additional 10 percent of SGL through financial derivatives, the Wiesbaden, Germany-based maker of carbon and graphite products said today. SGL, which will supply carbon fiber for BMW’s upcoming line of city cars, surged as much as 7.8 percent, valuing the stake at 474 million euros ($641 million).
“It appears the strategic importance of future lightweight materials is too significant in order to allow a major competitor potentially taking control,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst with Credit Suisse in London.
Volkswagen is the parent of Audi, which aims to surpass BMW as the world’s largest maker of luxury vehicles by 2015. The company announced it bought an 8.2 percent stake in SGL in March. Klatten increased her holding to a blocking minority in May. The BMW holding is separate, allowing BMW and Klatten to avoid making a mandatory takeover offer.
Klatten is a member of the Quandt family, which owns 47 percent of BMW. She controls her stake through investment vehicle Skion GmbH and the “holding is legally separate from BMW’s with no pooling agreement in place or planned,” Klatten spokesman Joerg Appelhans said.
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