Proliance Files for Chapter 11

Proliance International has filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on 2 July. In addition, Proliance has agreed to sell substantially all of its North American assets for $21.5 million in cash, under a court supervised sale process to Centrum Equities XV. Centrum Equities also owns the Visteon aftermarket business, which it purchased in February 2008.

Charles Johnson, Proliance president and CEO, said, “The combination of Centrum’s resources and industry expertise and Proliance’s manufacturing and distribution capabilities will help get our business back on track faster and enable the combined company to serve its customers in an exemplary way. Longer term, we believe ownership by Centrum will create a stronger balance sheet and establish a solid platform which will provide opportunity for growth.”

Roger Brown, president and CEO of Centrum Equities XV, said, “We are excited about this opportunity to put together these two leading companies in the automotive aftermarket. We strongly believe that the combination with Proliance, along with the financial investment to be made, will provide for unparalleled service in the industry.” (Tire Review/Akron)