06/11/2001 – LONDON and OSHAWA, Ontario

TDS and Mackie Automotive Systems (MAS) today announced that they have entered into a letter of intent for TDS to acquire MAS.

Under the terms of the letter of intent, which is subject to normal due diligence provisions, the joint company will operate 33 facilities on four continents. Integration planning has yet to commence, but the senior management teams anticipate numerous operational, regional, technical and customer synergies – all which should lead to enhanced service levels for the customer base and enriched challenges for the combined TDS/MAS employee base.

The transaction is expected to be completed in 60 to 90 days. “We have watched Mackie Automotive Systems from a distance for several years, with our growth mainly in Europe and theirs mainly in North America – it's a great fit. In the inbound sequencing arena, this merger will leverage the strong North American success of MAS with the European leadership of TDS,” said TDS President and CEO Jos Opdeweegh.

“TDS and MAS have been leaders in automotive logistics for several years, so it seemed natural to join forces,” said MAS President and CEO Herb Stone.

TDS automotive, based in London, Ontario, is a global best-in-class provider of high complexity automotive logistics services – both inbound and outbound from customer facilities. TDS has 18 facilities providing logistics services in Europe, North and South America and Asia.

Mackie Automotive Systems, based in Oshawa, Ontario, is a leader in supplying materials integration services for the automotive industry and has coined the term Tier Zero™ to describe its place in the overall parts and logistics supply chain. Mackie operates 15 facilities with 2,200 employees in four countries.