- Successful conclusion of the investor process in an extremely difficult industry environment
- All four locations of the group in Germany are to be continued after the acquisition and all employees are to be taken over
- Rüster CRO Christian Stoffler: "This gratifying solution for the future was only made possible by the close cooperation between employees, customers and suppliers."

Deggingen/Munich, May 17, 2023 - The future solution for Tier1/2 automotive supplier Rüster is in place: Bayrak Lastik, a leading Turkish automotive supplier, signed an agreement yesterday to take over the entire operating business at all four German sites. This marked the successful conclusion of the structured investor process as part of the insolvency proceedings in self-administration of Rüster GmbH.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is expected to be legally completed by the beginning of June 2023. The creditors' committee as well as the administrator of the insolvency proceedings, attorney Martin Mucha from the law firm GRUB BRUGGER, have already given their approval to the offer submitted by Bayrak Lastik. The transaction will take place as part of an asset deal, whereby all business activities of the Rüster Group will be transferred to a new company, which will be fully owned by Bayrak Lastik. The name of the acquiring company will be changed to Bayrak Technik GmbH.

Rüster GmbH had filed for insolvency in self-administration in November 2022, and the proceedings were opened on February 1, 2023. The management was supported in the restructuring by the Munich law firm Gerloff Liebler Rechtsanwälte : Christian Stoffler, for example, joined the management as Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO), and Dr. Christian Schmitt became General Representative.

Bayrak Lastik will take over the four locations of the Rüster Group in Deggingen (Swabia), Rehburg (southern Lower Saxony), Gedern (northeast of Frankfurt/Main) and Lauda (northeast of Baden-Württemberg) with all of their 600 employees. Business relations will be continued with the Rüster site in Poland, with a view to deciding on the future of the site after a certain period.

Bayrak Lastik is a family company founded in 1974 in Turkey, 100% owned by Zekeriya Bayrak. Bayrak Lastik has been a reliable supplier for many years to Fiat, MAN, Isuzu, Hyundai, Renault, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi or ZF Group, among others. The company manufactures products in Turkey that affect the noise and vibration characteristics of vehicles (so-called NVH products), for example conventional chassis mounts, subframe mounts or shock absorber bushings.

Rüster mainly supplies car manufacturers and suppliers from Germany and abroad with a wide range of products for vibration damping and sealing/insulation of vehicles as well as interior parts. The company in its current form with four locations has only emerged in the past two years from the merger of several companies. On July 1, 2021, Rüster GmbH had emerged from the insolvency of the former Rüster Präzisionstechnik GmbH & Co. KG on July 1, 2021.

Christian Stoffler, Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) of Rüster: "This very pleasing result is anything but self-evident when you consider the difficult situation in the automotive supply industry. It was only possible thanks to the close cooperation between employees, customers and suppliers over the past few months. As a result, Rüster's business development is proceeding according to plan, even in the self-administration process, and is delivering slightly positive results. We would like to thank Rüster's customers and all other business partners for their loyalty over the past months. And, of course, a big thank you also goes to our employees, whose dedication has made it possible to continue business operations."

Administrator Martin Mucha (law firm GRUB BRUGGER, Stuttgart): "Only a short time after the opening of the insolvency, a strategic buyer was found in the tightly managed self-administration proceedings and the future of Rüster was secured. The company will restart after the asset deal has been settled and has found a strategically and financially strong partner in Bayrak Lastik."

Zekeriya Bayrak, Chairman of the Board of Bayrak Lastik: "With Rüster and Bayrak Lastik, two companies with a long tradition and well positioned in the market are joining forces. The combination opens up numerous synergy opportunities, for example in purchasing or research and development. We are convinced that the experience, network and customer base of both companies will enable us to achieve an even stronger position in international competition. To this end, we intend to further develop the sites in Germany in the long term."

Rüster was legally supported by the restructuring team of the law firm Eversheds Sutherland led by Dr. Christian Hilpert and Dr. Anne Deike Riewe. The management consultancy Roland Berger with Jörg Eschmann and Markus Held managed the investor process. Operationally, Fredrik Ljungman supported the company in self-administration as interim managing director alongside Christian Stoffler.

 

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