Sumitomo to Acquire US Retailer TBC

Sumitomo Corp, the third-largest trading house in Japan, said it has reached an agreement to acquire US automobile tyre retailer TBC Corp this year for some 120 billion yen (£600 million). Sumitomo said it will complete the acquisition at the end of December. The acquisition is intended to solidify Sumitomo’s existing tyre business and increase profits by expanding into tyre retailing, the company said in a statement.

The Japanese company plans to expand its tyre business in the U.S. by adding TBC’s more than 1,000 retail stores to its Treadways Corp.