BFNAT Writes $240 Million Check to Settle With Ford

(Akron/Tire Review) Bridgestone/Firestone North American Tire (BFNAT) has reached a settlement agreement with Ford Motor Co on “outstanding financial issues” tied to BFNAT’s August 2000 Firestone Wilderness tire recall and Ford’s subsequent May 2001 tire replacement program. In the agreement, BFNAT will pay Ford some $240 million. BFNAT said the deal “settles all remaining matters between the two companies related to these campaigns.”

“The Bridgestone group benefits from the certainty that a settlement brings,” said Shoshi Arakawa, Bridgestone Corp.’s executive vice president of international operations. “It is clear that the best option for the future of the North American tyre business was to explore whether an acceptable settlement could be reached which would allow BFNAT to put this matter behind it and focus on its future business opportunities. This settlement achieves that goal.”