Exhibit 99(a)(1)(H)
[GRAPHIC]
PRESS RELEASE
AUTOLIV BID TO BECOME GLOBAL LEADER IN AIRBAG INITIATORS
(STOCKHOLM, MARCH 13, 2000) - AUTOLIV INC. (NYSE: ALV AND SSE: ALIV) - THE
WORLDWIDE LEADER IN AUTOMOTIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS - HAS REACHED AN AGREEMENT TO
ACQUIRE OEA, INC. AND WILL COMMENCE A TENDER OFFER FOR ALL SHARES OUTSTANDING
FOR $10.00 PER SHARE OR A TOTAL OF $206 MILLION. OEA IS AUTOLIV'S MAIN EXTERNAL
SUPPLIER OF INITIATORS FOR AIRBAG INFLATORS. LAST YEAR, OEA'S SALES AMOUNTED TO
NEARLY $250 MILLION. THE BOARDS OF AUTOLIV AND OEA HAVE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THE
TRANSACTION. THE OFFER IS SUBJECT TO CUSTOMARY REGULATORY APPROVALS AND THE
ACCEPTANCE BY OWNERS REPRESENTING AT LEAST A MAJORITY OF THE SHARES OUTSTANDING
IN OEA.
OEA is the world's second largest manufacturer of airbag initiators with
production last year of 32 million such ignitors. In addition, OEA manufactures
inflators for airbags and aerospace products.
"We expect to be able to create large synergies by integrating OEA with
Autoliv. The acquisition should therefore have a marginally positive effect on
this year's earnings for Autoliv and a more pronounced effect already next
year", explained Autoliv's President and C.E.O. Lars Westerberg.
"At the same time, we will make Autoliv an even better supplier partner for our
North American customers by adding expertise in airbag initiator technology to
our own areas of competence. Although we have one company in Europe for airbag
initiators, we have not had this specialized competence in-house in the U.S.
where we produce most of our airbag inflators, all of which have at least one
initiator. The planned acquisition would therefore be complementary".
"The initiator market is poised for rapid growth due to the introduction of
smart airbags, which has already begun. These airbags will require at least two
initiators each, instead of only one in existing systems. In addition, each seat
belt pretensioner uses one initiator, which means that there will be as many as
15 initiators in a car in the future. Consequently, the initiator market should
grow substantially faster than the airbag market. OEA is also a leader in
Intelligent Firings Squibs (IFS), which is the next generation of initiators. By
programming each initiator to react only to its specific code, all initiators in
a vehicle can use a bus system, i.e. the same harness circuit, which will reduce
installation costs significantly for our customers."
"OEA also produces airbag inflators, a business it began in 1996, which has
caused substantial pressure on profits. Autoliv has a successful inflator
operation in the U.S. which we will utilize to turn OEA's inflator into a
profitable business", said Autoliv's President and CEO Lars Westerberg.
The company also has an aerospace operation which specializes in life-saving,
propellant-actuated devices for aircraft ejection systems. This represents less
than 20% of sales.
OEA, with headquarters in Denver, Colorado, has 1,700 employees with operation
in Colorado, Utah, California and France.
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER
TO SELL SHARES OF THE COMPANY. AT THE TIME THE OFFER IS COMMENCED, AUTOLIV WILL
FILE A TENDER OFFER STATEMENT WITH THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
AND OEA WILL FILE A SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE
OFFER. THE TENDER OFFER STATEMENT (INCLUDING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, A RELATED
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND OTHER OFFER DOCUMENTS) AND THE
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHICH
SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFER.
THE OFFER TO PURCHASE, THE RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND CERTAIN OTHER OFFER
DOCUMENTS, AS WELL AS THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT, WILL BE MADE
AVAILABLE TO ALL STOCK HOLDERS OF OEA, AT NO EXPENSE TO THEM. THE TENDER OFFER
STATEMENT (INCLUDING THE OFFER TO PURCHASE, THE RELATED LETTER TO TRANSMITTAL
AND THE OTHER OFFER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE COMMISSION) AND THE
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE AT THE
COMMISSION'S WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV.
INQUIRES:
Lars Westerberg, President & CEO, Autoliv Inc., Tel +46 (8) 58 72 06 20
Tom Hartman, President Autoliv Inflators, Tel. +1 (801) 625-9564
Mats Odman, Dir. Corp. Comm., Tel +46 (8) 587 20 623 or +46 (708) 32 09 33
Barry Murphy, Director Investor Relations, Tel. +1 (248) 475-0409
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Autoliv Inc. Autoliv North America, Inc.
Klarabergsviadukten 70, Sec. E 1320 Pacific Drive
P. O. Box 703 81, SE-107 24 Stockholm, Sweden Auburn Hills, MI 48326-1569, USA
Tel +46 (8) 58 72 06 00, Fax +46 (8) 411 70 25 Tel +1 (248) 475-0409,
e-mail: mats.odman@autoliv.com Fax +1 (248) 475-9838
e-mail: barry_murphy@autolivasp.com
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