Continental to buy Elektrobit unit for $680m

Continental AG plans to buy Elektrobit Oyj's automotive business for 600 million euros ($680 million) as Europe's second-biggest maker of car parts and tires creates systems to enable automated driving. Elektrobit stock surged to a 14-year high.

Elektrobit, which will change its name to Bittium Oyj once the deal is complete, will pass most or all of the sale proceeds to shareholders, the Oulunsalo, Finland-based maker of software and hardware said in a statement on Tuesday. Investors holding 46 percent of Elektrobit stock have already agreed to the deal.

Growing demand for technology allowing cars to travel at least partly free of a driver's control has encouraged takeovers in the components industry, including ZF Friedrichshafen AG's purchase this year of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. The market for automated-driving systems might total $42 billion by 2025, Boston Consulting Group estimated in January.