American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.  (Detroit) and Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. (Southfield, Michigan) announced a merger.  AAM will acquire MPG for approximately $1.6 billion in cash and stock.

“AAM’s transformational acquisition of MPG brings together two complementary Tier 1 organizations to create a company with greater scale and increased diversity across products, customers and end markets,” said David C. Dauch, chairman and CEO, AAM. “MPG’s expertise in complex, highly-engineered powertrain components and its global footprint will be tremendous assets to AAM. We are excited about the powerful industrial logic in this combination that will allow us to create additional value for our customers and other key stakeholders. ”

MPG, which is the parent company of Grede, provides lightweight components for use in powertrain and suspension applications for the global light, commercial and industrial vehicle markets. The company has over 60 locations in 13 countries, with 12,000 employees.

“MPG and AAM share a similar culture and value system, laser focused on quality, operational excellence and technology leadership, which creates a natural fit and clear path to value creation for stakeholders of both companies,” said George Thanopoulos,  CEO, MPG.

-The 18th Guangzhou Die-casting, Foundry & Industry Furnace Exhibition