Vertu has entered into the online parts sales sector with the acquisition of AceParts; an online vehicle parts business based in Sittingbourne, Kent. The company sells through its own website AceParts and also through Amazon and eBay, using Royal Mail second class post for deliveries throughout the UK.
Andrew Page Group, has secured further funding from its provider PNC Business Credit (PNC) part of one of the largest financial institutions in the United States. The new funding comes a year after its original deal see funding grow from £40 million to £50 million to support its growth plans.
On 30 November 2015 Trelleborg’s Trelleborg Wheel Systems agreed to buy Standard Tyres Group, a Brazil-based privately owned industrial tyre manufacturer. The company is the market leader in industrial tyres in Brazil and the main supplier to locally based, global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of materials handling vehicles.
Titan International has announced the sale of the assets of its North American brake and actuator business to Dexter Axle. The sale covers an extensive line of brakes, actuators, couplers and hubs for trailer applications; these were produced as part of Titan’s consumer segment.
Bridgestone has acquired a majority shareholding in Slovakian tyre retailer and retreader A.R.S. spol sro. The Japanese tyre major hasn’t disclosed how much it paid for its shareholding or what the post-transaction ownership structure of A.R.S. looks like, however it states that the deal will “guarantee the stable growth of A.R.S. and will give customers access to best quality products and highest level of services.” The former Michelin strategic partner’s eight service locations will now be rebranded under the ‘Bridgestone Partner’ name and its retreading operation joins Bridgestone’s Bandag network.
Apollo Tyres’ takeover of reifencom GmbH, operator of e-commerce sites in six European countries, has been described as part of the company’s strategy to expand its retail network in the European market. Apollo said its takeover will allow it to support the expansion activities of its subsidiary Apollo Vredestein, which include major investments in the European premium brand Vredestein. The company stated that it has major plans for growth via an expansion of its original equipment activities – the groundwork for which is being laid via the current construction of a new plant in Hungary.
Things are tough in China, but not every company is going under. While some are struggling others are expanding quickly. During the course of the recent Reifen China exhibition in Shanghai, Tyres & Accessories spoke with Qingdao Doublestar representatives and found our more about the company’s ambitious plans for rapid change despite the turbulent market conditions.
In April 2015 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two men, long-time friends Amit Kanodia and Iftikar Ahmed, after the pair illegally profited from inside information related to Apollo Tyres’ plan to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber in 2013. Kanodia, whose wife held the post of general counsel at Apollo Tyres prior to the deal’s announcement and was privy to highly confidential information, also shared details with others. A further ‘close friend’, Steven C. Watson, is now the subject of a further case being pursued by the SEC. The US federal agency submitted its case against Watson to the United States District Court in the District of Massachusetts on 17 November.
Apollo Tyres Ltd has announced its acquisition of tyre wholesaler and online retailer Reifen.com GmbH. The German company changed hands for €45.6 million and, according to Neeraj Kanwar, vice-chairman and managing director of Apollo Tyres, the purchase of Reifen.com represents a “strategic fit in further growing our European business.
Following the re-opening of its well-reported takeover offer, Marco Polo Industrial Holding S.p.A. now owns 95.969 per cent of the ordinary share capital of Pirelli. The news suggests the takeover of Pirelli is now virtually complete and Marco Polo (which itself is owned by China National Chemical Corporation, China National Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd., Camfin S.p.A., Coinv S.p.A. and Long-Term Investments Luxembourg S.A. (which is controlled by Rosneft) is now the shareholder of basically all of Pirelli’s stock. The latest developments have taken place in the two weeks since Marco Polo became Pirelli’s majority shareholder on 8 October.
Omni United Pte. Ltd. has acquired Interstate Tire Distributor (ITD), a US tyre wholesaler based in California, USA. Further details of the transaction have not been disclosed. According to Omni United, the acquisition of ITD “substantially accelerates the global growth strategy” of the company.
Newly inaugurated Pirelli president, ChemChina’s Ren Jianxin, recently told Corierre della Sera of his pride in his company for completing the recent acquisition of Pirelli and his personal satisfaction to be working with Marco Tronchetti Provera. According to the interview, which was published in the Italy daily newspaper on 22 August, the acquisition and subsequent appointment is a great moment for ChemChina and for Ren himself it is a great honour to be Pirelli president and to work with Marco Tronchetti Provera, who he sees as an older brother and a teacher. He also revealed details of the wider strategy behind the investment.
As of yesterday (12 October 2015) Marco Polo Industrial Holding’s offer for Pirelli ordinary share capital achieved an acceptance rate of 53.6 per cent. However, because today (13 October) is the last day of the offer period, it is very likely that this percentage will be significantly more at the end of the day. This means the pre-announced plans for ChemChina to buy around two-thirds of Pirelli is well underway and therefore the company is now effectively Chinese-owned.
Eight weeks to the day, Auto Windscreens (part of the Markerstudy Group of Companies) has today (1st October) confirmed that the deal to purchase AA AutoWindshields has completed. With no time to lose to ensure the full integration of 200 staff and technicians, this is cited as a phenomenally successful exercise in communication and collaboration by the Sunday Times Best Companies Top 100 listed organisation.
On 29 September Marco Polo Industrial Holding S.p.A purchased 45,143,033 ordinary Pirelli & C. S.p.A. shares representing approximately 9.5 per cent of the company and 190,307 savings shares from certain investment funds managed by Paulson at a price of Euro 15.00 per share.
If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com. Or click below to continue on Tyrepress.