Today, the shareholder families of Sodecia and Huf have concluded the previously announced partnership. The family-owned, Portuguese automotive supplier has acquired a strategic minority stake in Huf and will gradually increase the shares. Sodecia shareholder and CEO Rui Monteiro has been announced as new Huf CEO and will manage the company together with COO Dirk Fischer and CFO Rainer Heupel. In addition to the closing of the transaction Huf has secured a new refinancing under better terms.
“The partnership with Sodecia marks a decisive milestone and opens up numerous new opportunities”, says Ulrich Hülsbeck, chairman of the Huf advisory board. “We are convinced that this cooperation will not only benefit our customers and employees but also our financial partners and suppliers to appreciate Huf as a reliable partner for sustainable growth.”
“We are very pleased having now Sodecia and Rui Monteiro on board”, says Florian Gräf, deputy chairman of the Huf advisory board and a descendant of the second Huf shareholder and founder family (Fürst). "The shared values and visions, but also the experience in the automotive industry of both companies create a strong foundation for a successful future.”
“Huf is an impressive company with a strong legacy as specialist for secure car access and authorization”, says Rui Monteiro, shareholder and CEO of Sodecia and Huf. “We will focus on developing, industrializing and offering solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers and their end consumers. This means not only anticipating market trends but also setting them with cutting-edge technologies."
In a first step, the Huf shareholder families sold 30% of its shares to Sodecia, and the Portuguese supplier provided significant funds that Huf will use to accelerate its growth plan on a robust financial basis. The first concrete example: As of today, Huf has secured a new refinancing. With a higher equity level and standard market terms, Huf is strengthening its position as a reliable partner to customers, suppliers and financial partners.
As part of this acquisition, Rui Monteiro joins Huf as new Chief Executive Officer and will manage the company together with Dirk Fischer and Rainer Heupel. With the new set up in the management at Huf, Dirk Fischer gains additional responsibilities as Chief Operating Officer. He manages the whole product creation and production stream at Huf, from first product design to the final delivery to the customer. Rainer Heupel continues his successful work as Chief Financial Officer with his global teams for Controlling, Accounting, Treasury, Tax & Legal, Compliance & Risk Management and IT.
In 2023, Huf has started the search for a strategic partner to realize the growth targets in line with its corporate strategy “Grow beyond”. With the Portuguese automotive supplier Sodecia, Huf has now found a partner that will support these ambitions. Huf will operate as a stand-alone entity responsible for “Access & authorization” and under the familiar name. The headquarters of Huf will remain in Velbert, Germany.
About the Huf Group
The Huf Group is the specialist for secure car access and authorization systems. Established in Velbert by Ernst Hülsbeck and August Fürst in 1908, the company today has 17 locations in Europe, America and Asia and supplies mechanical, electronic and software solutions for the global automotive industry. In the 2024 financial year, the Huf Group generated sales of around 1.1 billion EUR and employed almost 7,000 people worldwide.
