Houlihan Lokey advises Toyoda Gosei on strengthening its capital and business alliance with Ashimori Industry

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (Toyoda Gosei) has strengthened its capital and business alliance with Ashimori Industry Co., Ltd. (Ashimori). The transaction was finalized on on November 30, 2023.

Headquartered in Aichi, Japan, Toyoda Gosei is a listed Toyota Group automotive supplier of safety systems such as airbags and steering wheels and manufactures plastic and rubber automotive parts. It has a market capitalization of about $2.6 billion as of November 2023 and $6.6 billion in annual sales for FY2023.

Ashimori is a listed automotive safety system supplier headquartered in Osaka, Japan, that mainly manufactures airbags and seatbelts for automotive applications and engages in businesses with high-performance products, such as a trenchless technique for rehabilitating buried pipelines. It has a market capitalization of approximately $90 million as of November 2023 and $450 million in annual sales for FY2023.

With the rise of battery-electric vehicles and autonomous driving, safety systems such as airbags, seatbelts, and steering wheels will need to evolve in terms of both function and performance. Demand will also continue to grow with the adoption of stricter safety regulations in all parts of the world. To respond to these needs and contribute to safer and more reliable mobility in society, Toyoda Gosei and Ashimori are accelerating their collaboration based on the capital and business alliance of May 2021. They will maximize the synergistic effect achieved in product development, design, sales, purchasing, and production by leveraging their mutual business assets and know-how. Toyoda Gosei also aims to be a systems supplier that can comprehensively propose and supply safety systems.

As a result of this transaction, Toyoda Gosei acquired approximately an additional 14% stake in Ashimori from The Japan Wool Textile Co., Ltd., and has become the largest shareholder of Ashimori, owning approximately 28%.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Toyoda Gosei.