Adient completes $175 million sale of fabrics business

DETROIT -- Seating supplier Adient plc said Thursday that it has closed its sale of the company's automotive fabrics manufacturing business, including its lamination business, to Sage Automotive Interiors.

The deal, first announced in March, closed Wednesday, Adient said in a statement.

Cash proceeds received from the sale to the automotive textile supplier totaled about $175 million, Adient said. Proceeds are expected to be used to pre-pay a portion of the company's debt and for general corporate purposes.

Adient continues its strategy of focusing on its core, high-volume seating business in a move to restore profitability.

In January, it sold its premium brand, Recaro Automotive Seating. In March, as it faced losses associated with plant shutdowns during the coronavirus pandemic, it cut the salaries of U.S. non-plant employees by 20 percent. The next month, Adient said it planned to raise $500 million in a private offering, using its assets as collateral via a secured note.

Adient, based in Plymouth, Mich., ranks No. 12 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers with worldwide sales to automakers of $16.5 billion in 2019.