Sambo Motors buys ailing tuner Carlsson

Sambo Motors Co. Ltd. is to take over insolvent Carlsson Autotechnik GmbH including all employees on 4 December 2015. The Korean automotive supplier with annual revenues of more than US$1 billion in 2014 and 3,000 employees wants to expand the production of special editions for car manufacturers and strengthen the production capacities at the historic plant in Merzig/Saarland.

Carlsson is the second largest independent Mercedes-Benz tuner by turnover but also works for other car manufacturers and importers. In 2013, the company realized a turnover of 30 million euros, in 2014 it was 18 million euros.

“Carlsson has a strong brand in the international tuning business. For the Saarland the company is an important part within the regional automotive industry and was greatly supported at this year’s IAA (Internationale Automobil Ausstellung) in Frankfurt. With Sambo Motors, a financially and internationally well-established supplier, the jobs and the future of Carlsson are secured”, said Dr. Robert Schiebe from law firm Schiebe und Collegen in Saarbrücken.

Carlsson Autotechnik GmbH, which was founded in 1989, filed for insolvency at the local court of Saarbruecken, Sulzbach branch in April. Differences among the shareholders led to liquidity problems as the Chinese main shareholder stopped his financial support.

During the sales process, around 250 potential national and international bidders were contacted. Four bidders finally made a binding offer. The Creditors Committee decided on 19 November unanimously if favour of the offer of Sambo Motors.

“Despite the insolvency proceedings the sports sedan Carlsson CC 63 Rivage, based on the Mercedes C-Class, was developed and presented at IAA Frankfurt Auto Show in September. The positive feedback from our partners helped a lot. Sambo Motors now provides a solid basis for a sustainable development of our company”, says Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Markus Schuster, CEO of Carlsson Autotechnik GmbH.