French auto-parts maker, Valeo, is purchasing Japanese switches manufacturer, Niles, for €320 million, The Wall Street Journal reports. Valeo will buy a 77.8% interest from Belgian holding company, RHJ International, and a 20% minority shareholding owned by Niles’s main customer, Nissan Motor. The deal, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2011, will expand Valeo’s position in Asia, adds Bloomberg. Niles owns production facilities in Michigan and Kentucky in the U.S. as well as in Taiwan, China, Thailand and France.

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