Ara Partners (Ara) has acquired Vacuumschmelze (VAC), a global producer of advanced magnetic materials and the largest producer of rare earth permanent magnets in the Western Hemisphere, from funds managed by Apollo.
Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
VAC designs and manufactures mission-critical soft and hard magnetic materials for a wide variety of industrial applications across the automotive, renewable energy, industrial automation, medical and aerospace sectors. The company is headquartered in Germany, with manufacturing facilities in Slovakia, Finland, China, and Malaysia.
VAC is the only Western manufacturer of sintered NdFeB EV-grade permanent magnets and, in January this year, signed a a long-term agreement with General Motors (GM) to build a facility in North America to manufacture permanent magnets, using locally sourced raw materials, for the electric motors used in a broad portfolio of GM electric vehicles.
Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel to Ara Partners. Barclays acted as financial advisor to VAC. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Ashurst LLP acted as legal counsel to VAC.
