Visteon Completes Sale of Yanfeng Joint Venture

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich., Dec. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Visteon Corporation (NYSE: VC) has completed the sale of its 50 percent ownership interest in its Chinese joint venture Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd. (YFV) to Huayu Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. (HASCO), in accordance with their previously announced agreement. Visteon expects to receive more than $1 billion in total after-tax proceeds as a result of the series of transactions. Visteon received approximately $840 million, after the provision of certain local taxes, for its stake, and expects to receive an additional after-tax distribution of approximately $65 million prior to the end of 2013. Additionally, Visteon expects to receive approximately $116 million in additional after-tax proceeds in 2014 and 2015 as a result of related transactions. These proceeds do not include an $86 million payment to gain consolidation of Yanfeng Visteon Electronics. 

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The sale of the YFV stake is the largest part of a series of transactions that also includes the sale of certain other interiors joint ventures and the acquisition by Visteon of a controlling interest in Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Electronics Co., Ltd. (YFVE), which was completed in November 2013.

"We are pleased to have completed this transaction, which supports our focus on our core climate and electronics businesses and allows us to continue to return value to our shareholders through the authorized $1 billion share repurchase program," said Timothy D. Leuliette, president and CEO of Visteon. "We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with HASCO in the rapidly growing vehicle cockpit electronics market."

Advising Visteon on the transaction were Rothschild Inc.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; and Goldman Sachs Co.

About Visteon

Visteon is a leading global automotive supplier delivering value for vehicle manufacturers and shareholders through a family of businesses including:

• Halla Visteon Climate Control, majority-owned by Visteon and the world's second-largest global supplier of automotive climate components and systems.
• Visteon Electronics, a leading supplier of audio and infotainment, driver information, center stack electronics and feature control modules.
• Visteon Interiors, a global provider of vehicle cockpit modules, instrument panels, consoles and door trim modules.

Through this family of enterprises, Visteon designs, engineers and manufactures innovative components and systems for virtually every vehicle manufacturer worldwide, and these businesses generated $13.8 billion in sales in 2012, including non-consolidated operations. With corporate offices in Van Buren Township, Mich. (U.S.); Shanghai, China; and Chelmsford, UK; Visteon has facilities in 29 countries and employs through its various businesses, including non-consolidated operations, approximately 55,000 people. Learn more at www.visteon.com.

Forward-looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions but rather are subject to various factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: (1) conditions within the automotive industry, including (i) the automotive vehicle production volumes and schedules of our customers, (ii) the financial condition of our customers and the effects of any restructuring or reorganization plans that may be undertaken by our customers or suppliers, including work stoppages, and (iii) possible disruptions in the supply of commodities to us or our customers due to financial distress, work stoppages, natural disasters or civil unrest; (2) our ability to satisfy future capital and liquidity requirements; including our ability to access the credit and capital markets at the times and in the amounts needed and on terms acceptable to us; our ability to comply with financial and other covenants in our credit agreements; and the continuation of acceptable supplier payment terms; (3) our ability to satisfy pension and other post-employment benefit obligations; (4) our ability to access funds generated by foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures on a timely and cost-effective basis; (5) our ability to execute on our transformational plans and cost-reduction initiatives in the amounts and on the timing contemplated; (6) general economic conditions, including changes in interest rates, currency exchange rates and fuel prices; (7) the timing and expenses related to internal restructurings, employee reductions, acquisitions or dispositions and the effect of pension and other post-employment benefit obligations; (8) increases in raw material and energy costs and our ability to offset or recover these costs, increases in our warranty, product liability and recall costs or the outcome of legal or regulatory proceedings to which we are or may become a party; and (9) those factors identified in our filings with the SEC. Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which represent our view only as of the date of this release, and which we assume no obligation to update. New business wins and re-wins do not represent firm orders or firm commitments from customers, but are based on various assumptions, including the timing and duration of product launches, vehicle production levels, customer price reductions and currency exchange rates.

SOURCE Visteon Corporation