LDV saved at the 11th hour
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Van maker LDV, which was on the verge of collapse last week, appears to have been saved by a deal with a consortium headed by Sun European Partners. The company is the European adviser to Florida-based investment company Sun Capital Partners.
LDV went into administration on Friday 16th December and was immediately acquired by the consortium, consisting of Sun European and European Acquisition Capital. European Acquisition Capital took a stake in the struggling van manufacturer in 2003.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is believed to be worth around £75 million. The funding will allow LDV to press ahead with development of the Maxus chassis-cab and minibus ranges.
In a statement, LDV and its new investment partners have said: 'We believe that the future of the business is through continued growth and development of the Maxus range and have decided to phase out older product ranges. As a result, production of Maxus will progresively re-commence this week, while Convoy and Pilot ranges will cease. The financial package will enable LDV to accelerate the new model development programme with a range of minibuses being introduced in 2006 and chassis cab derivatives will follow.'
A spokeswoman for LDV told ROADWAY: 'LDV stated at the Maxus launch that it would need to raise further funds to develop the Maxus range, which has almost been too successful too quickly.'
Apart from expanding the Maxus range, the company will also be developing its distribution channels. ROADWAY understands that the existing LDV management team will remain in place.
