M&A Acquirer Playbook

DANA Inc acquisition history.

Every deal, price, and strategic rationale.

Company DANA Inc
SEC CIK 0000026780
Tracked filings EDGAR · 8-K
Total deals tracked
9
Disclosed 8-K acquisitions, 2016 — present.
Aggregate disclosed value
$1.3B
approximately $1.3 billion across disclosed transactions.
Active acquisition years
2016 · 2017 · 2018 · 2019
a concentrated 2016-2019 acquisition wave, peaking in 2019.
Primary sectors
Off-highway power transmission and electric-vehicle propulsion
Brevini, Oerlikon Drive Systems (Graziano, Fairfield); TM4, SME, PEPS, Nordresa e-propulsion; SIFCO and USM driveline vertical integration.
Verified 9 deals on this page · sourced from SEC filings
All cross-references covered.

9 deals, $1.3B deployed.

Plotted by close date where disclosed, otherwise announcement. Click any marker to jump to the deal entry.

The rationale that repeats.

Three patterns show up across DANA's deal book — what the team buys, how it pays, and how it integrates. The patterns are the throughline; the individual deals below are the evidence.

01
Acquisition criteria

Buy the work function, not just the wheels.

Dana's off-highway thesis was to control the entire power path of a machine. The Brevini acquisition was meant to establish Dana as "the only off-highway solutions provider that can manage the power to both move the equipment and perform its critical work functions," doubling its addressable off-highway driveline market by adding tracked-vehicle gearboxes, hydraulics and controls. The Oerlikon Drive Systems deal then layered high-precision helical gears and planetary hub drives on top of that base.

Magnum Gaskets (aftermarket distribution business)SIFCO S.A. (commercial vehicle steer axle & forged components businesses)Brevini Fluid Power (BFP) & Brevini Power Transmission (BPT)USM - Warren (Warren Manufacturing LLC; Warren, Michigan operations of U.S. Manufacturing Corporation)TM4 Inc.
02
Capital deployment

Assemble a complete e-Drive stack one component at a time.

Across 2018-2019 Dana bought motors, inverters and controls (TM4, SME, PEPS) and integration expertise (Nordresa) to become, in its own words, "the only supplier with full e-Drive design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities." The TM4 deal brought motors and inverters from Hydro-Quebec; SME added off-highway low-voltage motors; PEPS gave full control of Chinese EV-motor manufacturing; and Nordresa supplied the battery-management and integration layer to ship complete electric powertrain systems.

Magnum Gaskets (aftermarket distribution business)SIFCO S.A. (commercial vehicle steer axle & forged components businesses)Brevini Fluid Power (BFP) & Brevini Power Transmission (BPT)USM - Warren (Warren Manufacturing LLC; Warren, Michigan operations of U.S. Manufacturing Corporation)TM4 Inc.
03
Integration approach

Vertically integrate the supply chain Dana was already buying from.

Several deals converted external suppliers into owned capacity. The USM - Warren purchase "transition[ed] significant purchased content to vertically integrated supply" of lightweight axle tubes, while the SIFCO auction win let Dana "enhance our vertically integrated supply chain" for forged components in Brazil and meet customer local-content requirements. Magnum Gaskets similarly extended Dana's owned aftermarket sealing distribution.

Magnum Gaskets (aftermarket distribution business)SIFCO S.A. (commercial vehicle steer axle & forged components businesses)Brevini Fluid Power (BFP) & Brevini Power Transmission (BPT)USM - Warren (Warren Manufacturing LLC; Warren, Michigan operations of U.S. Manufacturing Corporation)TM4 Inc.

The full deal book.

9 acquisitions. Click any row to see the deal value, financing structure, target revenue, executive commentary, and the original SEC filing — the evidence behind the patterns above.

End of deal book
9 acquisitions · $1.3B deployed ·2016 — present
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