EC approves Yokohama Rubber’s TWS acquisition

On 24 March, the European Commission granted The Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. unconditional antitrust clearance to acquire all outstanding shares of Trelleborg Wheel Systems Holding AB (TWS) from Sweden’s Trelleborg AB. The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is currently reviewing the proposed acquisition and will announce its decision soon.

As Tyrepress.com reported at the end of January, the Competition and Markets Authority began looking at the transaction on 1 February 2023, with the deadline for announcing its decision on whether to refer the merger for a second phase investigation being 28 March 2023.

Trelleborg and Yokohama Rubber expect that the transaction will be completed during the first half of 2023, with the Swedish firm previously hinting that everything may be done and dusted by the time its 2023 Capital Markets Day takes place on 23 May.

25 March a good day to talk acquisitions

Yokohama Rubber first announced its intention to acquire TWS on 25 March 2022. It seems that 25 March is a favoured date for Yokohama Rubber, as on that day in 2016 the company announced a prior significant off-highway segment acquisition after reaching an agreement to purchase all shares in Alliance Tire Group (ATG).

Once the deal with Trelleborg closes, Yokohama Rubber will own six off-highway tyre brands – the Alliance, Galaxy and Primex brands gained through the ATG acquisition, the TWS brands Trelleborg and Mitas, as well as Yokohama. As the Japanese firm shared when confirming its interest in TWS, the aim of the acquisition is to increase the proportion of commercial tyres sold (as of 2022, the ratio was 2:1 in favour of consumer tyres) to bring the company’s tyre business “more in line with the overall market” (which has a 1:1 consumer/commercial ratio) and thus achieve a “more optimal sales composition” while strengthening the commercial tyre business in four key areas – product line-up, cost, service and DX (digital transformation).