New Name Enters Auto Parts Scene

Acquisition-oriented financier Wilbur Ross, who is busy snapping up auto-parts makers to form a new company, will call the company International Auto Components, the Detroit Free Press is reporting.
In September, Ross’ company, WL Ross & Co., bought stakes in Oxford Automotive and Safety Components International Inc. Most recently, the financier bought up a lot of debt from the bankrupt textile maker Collins & Aikman Corp., which supplies fabrics for car interiors, and has plants in North Carolina.
As he’s done with other industries, including the textile industry, Ross’ usual method is to buy bankrupt companies, shed debts, workers and otherwise clean up their balance sheets, and then recombine them into new firms. In 2004, he bought Burlington Industries and Cone Mills out of bankruptcy to form Greensboro-based International Textile Group. He’s also done the same thing in the steel industry and coal industries.