Auto parts maker Valeo has a change at its helm

French auto parts maker Valeo said today that its chairman and CEO, Thierry Morin, had stepped down because of ''strategic differences'' with the board, following a steep decline in the company's shares over the last decade and in spite of a recovery for the stock in the last year. Pascal Colombani will serve as acting chairman and Jacques Aschenbroich will become CEO. Aschenbroich has held several posts in the French administration and was deputy CEO of Saint Gobain until December 2008.

Morin is stepping down after facing pressure for more than a year from Pardus Capital Management LP, Valeo's biggest investor, to sell off underperforming businesses and concentrate on increasing market share in a handful of areas, such as air conditioning. Paris-based Valeo makes a range of car parts, including windshield wipers and headlights.

New York-based Pardus and Morin, a Valeo executive since 1995, had been at odds for more than a year as the investment fund pushed the French company to sell about half of its businesses and buy others to focus on becoming a global leader in vehicle heating, air conditioning and electrical parts.

Pardus, which holds a 19.75 per cent stake, also had pressed Valeo to bid for all or part of Michigan- based Visteon Corp., identifying the company's thermal-parts division as a potential acquisition. Pardus is Visteon's biggest shareholder, with a 23 per cent stake.

Valeo was the first company in France to benefit from President Nicolas Sarkozy's strategic investment fund, created to help companies hit by the global economic crisis. The fund bought 2.35 per cent of the group for €19.0 million ($26.0 million) last month, making it the second largest shareholder. Consequently, it has asked for a seat on the board. The Strategic Investment Fund, or FSI, asked for the seat at the end of last week, a spokesman said.

Valeo is an independent industrial group focussed on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks. Valeo ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The group has 121 plants, 61 R&D centers, 10 distribution centres and employs 51,200 people in 27 countries worldwide.

Valeo fell as much as 38 cents, or 3.4 per cent, to €11.50 and was down 1 per cent as of 2:21 p.m. in Paris trading. The stock has gained 3.8 per cent this year, giving the company a market value of €861 million ($1.16 billion).