Dana said it will record a one-time gain of approximately $70 million before tax in the first quarter of 2000 as a result of the sale. As part of its strategy to focus more on the worldwide vehicular market, Dana sold all of its Warner Electric Industrial Products business and part of its Warner Electric Motors and Controls business. The divested businesses had sales of approximately $350 million in 1999 and employ some 3,000 people at 22 facilities throughout the world.

Dana retained a number of facilities that will help to strengthen its new Motor and Electronic Systems division. These include automotive motion control operations; its American Electronic Components, Inc., facilities serving automotive customers; and certain automotive engineering and test facilities.

The Motor and Electronic Systems division was established to transform existing Dana products from "mechanical" to "intelligent" systems and to achieve greater electronic design and production effectiveness.

"This divestiture enables us to more effectively focus on our core businesses and our new vehicular electronic capability. It is another example of Dana's resolve to divest non-strategic assets -- one of the elements of our Five-Point Plan. And in doing so, it helps us to accomplish other elements of the plan," said Joe Magliochetti, Dana president and CEO.

(March 1, 2000)