In the course of concentrating on its core business of floor coverings and office furniture, DLW AG (D-74319 Bietigheim- Bissingen) has sold all its shares in Georg Näher GmbH (Hans- Grüninger-Weg 11, D-71796 Markgröningen) to Magna Holding AG (Magnastr. 1, A-2522 Oberwaltersdorf/Vienna), with retroactive effect from 1 January 1997. According to a press release in March, only a 74.9% takeover was planned initially. The transaction which has now taken place also includes the subsidiary Emfisint Automotive S.A. (Terrassa/Spain). Näher and Emfisint develop and produce products made of needled non-woven fabric, especially carpet parts with acoustic features, in their factories at Markgröningen, Rastatt, Terrassa, Epila-Saragossa and Overpelt. In 1996, Näher achieved a turnover of DEM 174m with 552 employees and Emfisint DEM 84m with 468 employees.

Magna, which is based in Canada (HQ: Magna International Inc., 36 Apple Creek Blvd., Markham, Ontario L3R 4YA, Canada), has a turnover of about DEM 7bn with over 35,000 employees at 125 production sites and 21 product development and engineering centres in 11 countries, making it one of the most diversified suppliers of automobile parts and accessories in the world. The takeover of Näher and Emfisint represents a considerable expansion of Magna's core business in the field of interior and exterior systems, following on from the earlier acquisition of Eybl, Marley Automotive, Pebra and Caradon Rolinx.