Disc-Lock Europe, European distributor of the award-winning Disc-Lock Safety Wheel Nut, is to be acquired by UK owned, Tension Control Bolts Ltd (TCB), a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of high strength, bolted systems for applications world-wide.
On 4 June, Pirelli’s largest single shareholder, ChemChina announced that it had set up ChemChina (UK) Ltd., as a wholly owned subsidiary of ChemChina Petrochemical Co., Ltd. According to the company, this business serves as “a London-based trading platform that will effectively complement its sister company ChemChina (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. to build around-the-clock trading networks covering various fields”.
Protyre has announced its acquisition of Walkers Tyre Service, a well-established business operating four sites in the Leicester area. The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions completed by the Micheldever Tyre Services Ltd-owned business and brings the number of centres now operated under the Protyre brand to 70.
In May 2011, Continental acquired a 49.9 per cent in French tyre chain Alençon Pneus; the company has now exercised its option to purchase the remaining share, and has become the 100 per cent owner of Alençon Pneus.
The company behind the ‘Intact’ shearographic tyre testing equipment range will soon have a new majority owner. Steinbichler Optotechnik GmbH announced on 12 June that the Zeiss Industrial Metrology Business Group intends to take a majority interest in the company. The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant authorities and due to be finalised in mid-summer 2015. Steinbichler’s headquarters will remain in Neubeuern, Germany following the majority share acquisition, and Dr Marcus Steinbichler will head the new company as its managing director over the long term.
Following the news that ChemChina now controls (both directly and indirectly) 30 per cent or more of Pirelli shares with a view to buying as much as 70 per cent of the company, Italian news reports suggest a number of smaller shareholders are forming an alliance in order to push for a higher offer price from ChemChina.
An investor consortium led by Austrian industrial holding Tyrol Equity AG has signed an agreement to sell a majority stake in German high performance alloy wheel manufacturer BBS GmbH to Korea Exchange listed industrial group Nice Holdings. The parties have declined to disclose the transaction value, and the deal is subject to relevant regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed within the coming months.
Michelin chief operating officer, Florent Menegaux told Tyres & Accessories that the manufacturer would promote synergies with ATS Euromaster following its acquisition of Blackcircles.com. Speaking to Tyrepress following the announcement of its £50 million purchase, Michelin’s chief operating officer said that the UK’s biggest online tyre retail operation would gain “access to ATS Euromaster branches in the UK”, which numbered 343 in the recent T&A survey of the retail landscape.
Marangoni S.p.A. has acquired a 25 per cent share in South Africa’s Leader Rubber Co. S.A., the Italian company reports. It describes the signing of an agreement to this effect as the “culmination of a partnership that has been ongoing for several years,” and says the objective of taking a 25 per cent shareholding is to strengthen both companies’ presence in the South African market and throughout Africa.
Camoplast Solideal Inc. has acquired New Zealand-based distributor Eastwood Tyres. The deal, Camoplast Solideal’s first bricks and mortar venture in the country, sees it assume immediate responsibility of the Eastwood facility in Auckland, including all staff, inventory, receivables, and equipment.
Michelin has bought Blackcircles.com, the number one internet tyre sales company in the United Kingdom, for £50 million. Based in Edinburgh, Blackcircles.com generated £28 million in revenue in 2013. Run by Mike Welch, its founder, Blackcircles.com has enjoyed growth of around 20 per cent per annum since 2008. The company reports that the first quarter of 2015 saw the company achieve revenues 34 per cent higher than Q1 2014.
India’s Elgi Rubber Co. Ltd has acquired US retreading equipment manufacturer American Equipment Manufacturing Inc., a firm better known in the market as Cincinnati Retreading/Reclamation Systems; CRS was established in 1975 as a division of American Equipment Manufacturing. The Aztec (New Mexico) headquartered firm is primarily known for its buffing machines, which are produced in the CRS factory in Fairfield (Ohio). According to media reports, Elgi Rubber intends to further expand the facility.
Following the news that China National Tire & Rubber Co. (CNRC), a subsidiary of China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), entered into a binding agreement with Edizione with respect to the purchase of 1.574 per cent of the share capital of Pirelli on 13 April, company representatives have issued a clarification that these shares are held indirectly.
Michelin says its acquisition of a 40 per cent share in France’s leading internet tyre retailer is a way to offer consumers “a simplified and financially-advantageous path” between searching online for tyre information and making a purchase and having tyres fitted by professionals. The tyre maker is investing €60 million for a minority stake in Allopneus SAS, which currently holds a seven per cent share of the French tyre market and sold some three million tyres last year.
Fermanagh-based tyre retailer Modern Tyres has announced plans to buy a depot in the Dublin area, continuing a recent expansion strategy within the business. So far details exactly which company it is have not yet been revealed. Modern Tyres is the biggest independent tyre retailer in Ireland, employing 200 people across 40 branches. Tyres & Accessories 2014 tyre retail survey found that – with 30 branches inside the UK – it is the ninth largest retailer in Britain.
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