Ningbo (China)/Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale/Daun. The Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp., Ningbo (China)  and  its subsidiary Preh Holding GmbH, Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale are each taking over 50 % of the TechniSat Automotive division from TechniSat Digital GmbH, Daun. The parties signed an according contract on Janu-ary 29, 2016. Within the Joyson Group, TechniSat Automotive will be operated in the Automotive Electronics division together with Preh GmbH as Preh TechniSat Car Connect GmbH. The takeover represents a sustainable strengthening  and  competence expan-sion of the Preh Group toa globally present systems pro-vider in the automotive sector. With the combined competences of Preh  and  TechniSat Automotive, Joyson is forming a tech-nology group with a sales volume of over a billion Euros that can develop into a global player for car connectivity  and  human ma-chine interface systems (HMI). The approximately 1,200 employ-ees at TechniSat Automotive will be taken over. Likewise, the TechniSat development locations in Dresden, San Car-los/California (USA)  and  Shanghai (China), as well as the pro-duction sites in Dippach/Thuringia  and  Oborniki (Poland)  and  an operative location in Daun will all be retained. The contractual parties agreed not to divulge details of the transaction. The take-over is subject to approval by the relevant authorities. In future, TechniSat Digital GmbH, Daun will focus on its Consumer Elec-tronics division  and  independently develop that field further.

TechniSat Automotive develops  and  produces innovative products software solutions in the fields of car infotainment, navigation, vehicle networking  and  telematics. As a direct supplier to the automotive industry (Tier 1), the company has many years’ experience as a development partner for navigation systems for renowned automobile manufacturers, especially for the Volkswagen Group. TechniSat Automotive’s competences include many years of experience in software solutions for tuners  and  telematics.

Following the agreement, Jeff Wang, founder  and  majority share-holder of Joyson, stated: “We’re beginning a new chapter in the Joyson growth story. The takeover of TechniSat Automotive moves our already highly successful Automotive Electronics activities into a new dimension. The competences of Preh  and  TechniSat Automo-tive complement each other ideally  and  open up new mutual busi-ness potential. We will integrate the renowned Preh car HMI concepts with TechniSat Automotive’s successful telematics  and  infotainment in innovative overall solutions. That creates new opportunities for the comprehensive networking of vehicles  and  brings us a decisive step closer to the Joyson vision of a ‘Connected Car’. I’m convinced that the take-over represents a win-win situation for both Preh  and  TechniSat.”

The founder  and  Managing Director of TechniSat Automotive, Peter Lepper, stated: “For us the key was to find an investor that had both the technical knowhow  and  the broad customer base to develop our automotive business further in a forward-looking way. The international competitive position of TechniSat Automotive is sustainably strengthened through the investor Joyson  and  the operative partner Preh. The medium sized cultural imprints of the companies also suit each other very well. In that respect, the new partnership offers good prospects for TechniSat Automotive employees. At the same time, TechniSat Digital GmbH will now focus completely the Consumer Electronics division  and  expand it further.”

TechniSat Automotive customers will retain their familiar contacts. Furthermore, the fact that the Managing Director of the new Preh TechniSat Car Connect GmbH is Peter Kohlschmidt, who was hitherto the TechniSat Managing Director responsible for Automotive business, ensures maximum continuity. Peter Kohlschmidt stated: “We warmly welcome the fact that we have been taken over by the Joyson Group, a financially powerful strategic investor that will drive our worldwide growth forward. At the same time, I regard having such a strong partner in Preh to be a great opportunity, with its impressive international footprint, but also becauseus it has a medium-sized business character. We will mutually benefit from the new partnership with respect to product portfolios, internationalization  and  customer access.”

The Preh CEO Christoph Hummel said: “We look forward to collabo-rating with our colleagues from TechniSat Automotive  and  welcome them to the Joyson Group. We at Preh value the high level of techno-logical competence  and  innovative drive at TechniSat Automotive  and  are convinced we ‘speak the same language’ in terms of busi-ness understanding  and  technological trends. With the support of our partner Joyson, we will exploit new business potential  and  achieve successful international growth.” According to Hummel, instead of being a classic synergy theme, the takeover is far more a perfect combination of technological competences  and  market ac-cess.

About Joyson/Preh

In addition to its operative automotive supply  and  automation fields, Joyson Investment Holding Co., Ltd, Ningbo (China) also has a real estate segment  and  8,200 employees worldwide. The Joyson Group was founded in 2004 by Jeff Wang.

Joyson has pooled its automotive  and  automation activities in the listed Joyson Electronics, Ningbo/China (600699:Shanghai). Within Joyson Elec-

tronics, Preh represents the corporate divisions of Automotive Electronics  and  Automation, while the corporate division Automotive Components con-sists of Joyson Automotive  and  QUIN.

As a globally positioned automotive supplier  and  automation specialist, Preh generated sales is thereby continuing its dynamic growth with double-figure growth rates. Preh currently has 4,900 employees worldwide. The company was founded in 1919 in Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale  and  has been a subsidiary of the Joyson Group since 2011. Preh operates at locations in Germany, Portugal, Romania, Mexico, the USA    China. The development  and  manufacturing competences of Preh focus on CAR HMI systems, e-mobility control units,  and  assembly  and  automation facilities.

About TechniSat

TechniSat Digital GmbH was founded in 1987 by Peter Lepper with the aim of producing high quality satellite products for consumers. That philosophy not only made it successful in Germany, but also in Europe  and  around the world. Today, TechniSat has over 2,150 employees in several locations in Germany  and  Europe, with which the company can offer development, production  and  services from a single source. TechniSat develops its HDTV-ready digital televisions  and  set-top boxes at its own research  and  development center in Dresden  and  produces them at its German manu-facturing sites in Stassfurt/Saxony-Anhalt  and  Sch?neck/Saxony.

For over 15 years, the TechniSat Automotive division has developed  and  produced high-quality products in the field of car infotainment, especially car radios  and  radio-navigation systems. In 2015, the division generated sales worth EUR 450 million, representing again a high double-figure percentage growth rate. TechniSat Automotive currently has a total of 1,200 employees at two locations in Germany  and  in Poland, the USA  and  China.