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Investment in Joint Ventures and Majority Owned Subsidiaries
9 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]  
Investment in Joint Ventures and Majority Owned Subsidiaries

Investment in Joint Ventures and Majority Owned Subsidiaries

Prior to June 30, 2023, we participated in certain Alliance Agreements with WITTE and ADAC. WITTE is a privately held automotive supplier that designs, manufactures and markets automotive components, including hood latches, rear compartment latches, seat back latches, door handles and specialty fasteners. WITTE’s primary market for these products has been Europe. ADAC is a privately held automotive supplier and manufacturer of engineered products, including door handles and other automotive trim parts, utilizing plastic injection molding, automated painting and various assembly processes. ADAC's primary market for these products is North America.

 

The Alliance Agreements included a set of cross-licensing agreements for the manufacture, distribution and sale of WITTE products by STRATTEC and ADAC in North America, and the manufacture, distribution and sale of STRATTEC and ADAC products by WITTE in Europe. Additionally, VAST LLC, a joint venture company in which WITTE, STRATTEC and ADAC each held a one-third equity interest, existed to seek opportunities to manufacture and sell each company’s products in areas of the world outside of North America and Europe. As a result of these relationships, the entities involved purchased component products from each other for use in end products assembled and sold in their respective home markets. STRATTEC purchased such component parts from WITTE. These purchases totaled $240,000 and $515,000 during the three- and nine-month periods ended April 2, 2023. WITTE was no longer a related party as of July 2, 2023 as a result of the Equity Restructuring Agreement discussed below.

VAST LLC had investments in Sistema de Acesso Veicular Ltda, VAST China (Taicang), VAST Jingzhou Co. Ltd., VAST Shanghai Co., VAST Fuzhou and Minda-VAST Access Systems. The operations under VAST Fuzhou closed during our fiscal 2021. Sistema de Acesso Veicular Ltda was located in Brazil and serviced customers in South America. VAST LLC disposed of Sistema de Acesso Veicular Ltda in June 2023. VAST China (Taicang), VAST Jingzhou Co. Ltd, and VAST Shanghai Co. (collectively known as VAST China), provided a base of operations to service each VAST partner’s automotive customers in the Asian market. Minda-VAST Access Systems is based in Pune, India and is a 50:50 joint venture between VAST LLC and Minda Management Services Limited, an affiliate of both Minda Corporation Limited and Spark Minda, Ashok Minda Group of New Delhi, India (collectively “Minda”). Minda and its affiliates cater to the needs of all major car, motorcycle, commercial vehicle, tractor and off-road vehicle manufacturers in India. VAST LLC also maintained branch offices in South Korea and Japan in support of customer sales and engineering requirements.

Effective June 30, 2023, we entered into and completed transactions contemplated by an Equity Restructuring Agreement ("Restructuring Agreement") between STRATTEC and WITTE. Pursuant to the terms of the Restructuring Agreement, STRATTEC sold its one-third interest in VAST LLC to WITTE and STRATTEC purchased WITTE's 20 percent non-controlling interest in SPA along with the net assets of VAST LLC's Korea branch office. As of June 30, 2023, the Korean branch office is wholly owned by STRATTEC and its subsequent financial results are consolidated with the financial results of STRATTEC. We believe the Restructuring Agreement positions STRATTEC to redeploy assets, both financial and technical, to create greater focus on STRATTEC-specific strategic growth opportunities in North America and around the world. We also expect that this transaction allows STRATTEC to be well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities, including more of our product applications on Electric Vehicles, growing consumer demand for Power Access products, expansion of electronics capabilities and other new automotive products. Moreover, we expect it to also give us greater resources to further explore diversification of markets, complimentary technology and regions outside of North America. As part of the Restructuring Agreement, STRATTEC also entered into a cooperation framework agreement with WITTE related to VAST LLC which provides a framework for the parties to collaborate on global automotive programs related to product development and manufacturing.

Prior to the restructuring agreement, VAST LLC investments were accounted for using the equity method of accounting. Results of the VAST LLC foreign subsidiaries and joint venture were reported on a one-month lag basis. The activities of the VAST LLC foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures resulted in equity loss of joint ventures of $269,000 during the nine-month period ended March 31, 2024, which loss was the result of additional professional fees incurred related to the Restructuring Agreement. The current year period loss is an adjustment to the gain on sale of VAST LLC of $110,000, which was recorded in our fiscal 2023. Our adjusted loss on sale of VAST LLC totals $159,000 as of March 31, 2024. During July 2023, STRATTEC received the final $2.0 million net purchase price due under the Restructuring Agreement. The activities of the VAST LLC foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures resulted in equity earnings of joint ventures to STRATTEC of approximately $1.9 million during the nine-month period ended April 2, 2023. During the nine-month period ended April 2, 2023, capital contributions totaling $711,000 were made to VAST for purposes of funding operations in Brazil. STRATTEC's portion of the capital contributions totaled $237,000. As of June 30, 2023, STRATTEC had no continuing involvement in VAST LLC other than under the cooperation framework agreement described above.

SPA was formed in fiscal year 2009 to supply the North American portion of the power sliding door, lift gate, tail gate and deck lid system access control products which were acquired from Delphi Corporation. Prior to the Restructuring Agreement, SPA was 80 percent owned by STRATTEC and 20 percent owned by WITTE. As a result of the Restructuring Agreement, STRATTEC purchased the remaining 20 percent interest in SPA, and SPA became a wholly owned subsidiary of STRATTEC. An additional Mexican entity, STRATTEC POWER ACCESS de Mexico, is wholly owned by SPA. The financial results of SPA are consolidated with the financial results of STRATTEC.

ADAC-STRATTEC LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, was formed in fiscal year 2007 to support injection molding and door handle assembly operations in Mexico. ADAC-STRATTEC LLC was 51 percent owned by STRATTEC and 49 percent owned by ADAC for all periods presented in this report. An additional Mexican entity, ADAC-STRATTEC de Mexico, is wholly owned by ADAC-STRATTEC LLC. ADAC-STRATTEC LLC’s financial results are consolidated with the financial results of STRATTEC and resulted in increased net sales to STRATTEC of approximately $98.8 million with no impact to net income during the nine-month period ended March 31, 2024 and increased net sales and reduced net income to STRATTEC of approximately $89.4 million and $1.8 million, respectively, during the nine-month period ended April 2, 2023.

ADAC charges ADAC STRATTEC LLC an engineering, research and design fee as well as a sales fee. Such fees are calculated as a percentage of net sales and are included in the consolidated results of STRATTEC. Additionally, ADAC-STRATTEC LLC sells production parts to ADAC. Sales to ADAC are included in the consolidated results of STRATTEC. The following table summarizes these related party transactions for the periods indicated below (in thousands):

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

March 31,
2024

 

 

April 2,
2023

 

 

March 31,
2024

 

 

April 2,
2023

 

Engineering, research and design fee charged to
   ADAC-STRATTEC LLC

$

2,514

 

 

$

2,158

 

 

$

6,918

 

 

$

6,257

 

Sales to ADAC

$

2,460

 

 

$

3,119

 

 

$

7,315

 

 

$

8,440