Toronto, Ontario — In this weekly Tuesday Ticker report, Canada’s third-largest auto parts manufacturer preps to prove its battery-making power; LKQ Corp. enters plans to sell its aftermarket glass division and Boyd Group Services announces its Q1 2022 cash dividend.
Proving the power
Martinrea International said it will begin proving out its battery technology and manufacturing process at its demonstration-scale facility in Montréal, with an investment decision on a battery plant coming by the end of the summer.
The demonstration facility and battery lab is set to open on April 5.
“Equipment came in the Fall, it’s in place and now we can produce,” D’Eramo told Automotive News Canada.
“Based on its success, we would build the first phase of a larger plant,” D’Eramo added.
The company claims its larger plant would have the capacity to produce 10 GWh of battery cells annually.
Clearing things up
Last week LKQ announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell PGW Auto Glass, a distributor of aftermarket glass, to private equity group One Equity Partners (OEP).
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, said LKQ in its press release. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“This divestiture reinforces our ongoing commitment to review our portfolio of businesses, rationalize our asset base, and divest non-core businesses. We are confident that the PGW management team, in partnership with OEP, will continue to deliver great outcomes for PGW’s customers,” said Dominick Zarcone, president and CEO of LKQ.
LKQ bought PGQ in early 2016 for US$636 million.
Boost from Boyd
Boyd Group Services has announced a cash dividend for the first quarter of 2022 of $0.144 per common share.
The dividend will be payable on April 27, 2022, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2022.
Shareholders who are non-residents of Canada will be subject to withholding taxes in respect of any dividends made by Boyd Group Services.
