Leading Italian automotive and motorcycle brake manufacturer Brembo, has swallowed Swedish-based suspension systems specialist Öhlins Racing in a £310m ($405m) cash deal – Brembo’s biggest-ever acquisition.
Brembo executive chairman Matteo Tiraboschi, said Öhlins was a “strong fit” which would help to expand its offerings for the automotive and motorcycle markets.”
Öhlins Racing chief executive Thomas Wittenschlaeger was altogether more effusive: “It will represent a marriage of two iconic brands, engendering iconic performance, iconic style, and reflecting a long history of sporting success, from Formula One to MotoGP and NASCAR.
“In that we have dedicated ourselves to defining the paradigm of ride dynamics and racing suspension across innumerable vehicle platforms, we see the opportunity to become a member of the world-renowned Brembo team at a segment-redefining moment.”
Since its foundation in 1976, by Kenth Öhlin, the business has had a chequered ownership background. Early success for Öhlins suspension in World Motocross Championships, in the hands of Yamaha riders Heikki Mikkola and Hakan Carlqvist, attracted factory interest. And so, in 1986, Yamaha Motor bought a big stake in Öhlins Racing.
World Superbike star Noriyuki Haga would go on to win a first WSBK race for Yamaha using Öhlins electronic suspension in 2008. But by then Öhlins Racing had already partnered with US automotive components manufacturer Tenneco, to develop its controlled electronic suspension (CES) for cars in 1998 and founder Kenth Öhlin had reclaimed a 95% shareholding in his company during 2007.
However, Tenneco bought a majority Öhlins stake in 2018 and subsequently took 100% of the firm with backing from the private equity arm of its asset-rich financial parent Apollo Global Management. Apollo/Tenneco has now sold this on to Brembo.