OEM- and aftermarket-auto parts manufacturer Meritor (MTOR) is exiting its Brazilian joint venture.
On Tuesday, Meritor announced that it has completed the sale of its 50% stake in its Suspensys Sistemas Automotivos Brazilian joint venture, selling out to JV partner Randon S.A. Implementos e Participacoes.
Meritor noted that it received $195 million cash for its share of the JV -- a sum equal to more than 25% of the company's total market capitalization, and news good enough to help add nearly 8% today to the 4% rise in share price that Meritor enjoyed Tuesday.
According to its most recent financials, Meritor had been generating on the order of $470 million in annual revenues from South American operations, primarily from Brazil, before its exiting the JV. In an earnings press release this morning, the company noted that South America was one of its stronger sales markets, and despite the exit its business there "continues to grow."
An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Meritor's exit from its Brazilian joint venture as an exit from the Brazilian market. The Fool regrets the error.
