acquisition Archives - Page 85 of 90 - Tyrepress

Posts

BERU Reduces Sales Growth Target to 10 per cent

Automotive supplier, Beru AG, has reduced its sales growth target, following lower than expected demand. The company now says that sales revenues should rise by at least 10 per cent in the current financial year with EBIT reaching at least 56 million euros. According to the company, an unusually warm winter, lower than expect demand for TPMS and lower sales in the field of diesel technology mean that its original 13 per cent sales goal will be unreachable.

11th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian Tyres Expands into Eastern Europe

Nokian tyres has acquired its Czech importer and a tyre wholesaler, Andel Export-Import. In a statement the company explained that the acquisition will enable it to concentrate its Eastern and Western European logistics operations in Prague.

In 2003 Andel Export-Import’s net sales totalled approximately 3.4 million euros. “The acquisition ensures the sales growth for Nokian branded tyres in a strategically important and fast growing Eastern European market. We will get the control of the whole logistics chain and a very healthy company,” said Kim Gran, president and CEO of Nokian Tyres.

8th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Accuride Acquires Transportation Technologies

Accuride Corporation has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Transportation Technologies Industries, Inc. (TTI). Accuride, already one of North America’s largest heavy and medium truck wheel suppliers, aims to become the trucking industry’s main one-stop component sourcing solution. Terry Keating, Accuride’s current president and chief executive officer, will continue to serve as president and CEO of the combined company.

Accuride also announced the completion of the amendment and restatement of its senior secured bank credit agreement. As part of the amendment, the company refinanced substantially all of its existing bank facilities. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc. jointly arranged for the new five-year $125 million revolving credit facility and the new seven-year $550 million term loan facility.

8th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Vianor Aims to Open 30 Russian Outlets

Nokian Tyres’ Vianor tyre chain has announced that it is aiming to open a total of 30, mainly franchised based outlets in Russia during 2005. The company says it will invest approximately 10 million euros in establishing the operation. The news follows the chain’s opening of outlets in Rostov and St Petersburg, and its acquisition of two tyre shops in Sweden. The company says the expansion of the Vianor chain will boost Nokian Tyres’ sales in Russia and give the company direct contacts with Russian consumers. “Tyre distribution is increasingly taken care of by the tyre shops and Nokian Tyres wants to be in the lead of this development,” said Kim Gran, president and CEO of Nokian Tyres.

In Sweden the chain has acquired two new shops Sjögrens Vulk AB and Degerfors Vulkcentral. All Vianor outlets share the same operational model and marketing concept. Vianor outlets sell mainly Nokian branded tyres, but also other well-known tyre brands. In addition, Vianor provides its customers with selected car related products and services, such as tyre hotels.

7th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

BMTR Celebrates 85th Anniversary

BMTR celebrated its 85th anniversary at the end of 2004 and to mark the occasion Group Tyre hosted a special dinner and presentation eveningat a prestigious hotel in Sutton Coldfield.

For BMTR, motorsport involvement began in the years after WW2, when motor racing commenced at Silvestone and Goodwood. The pattern continued in the 1950s and 1960s when Don Smith successfully raced Jaguars. Paul Smith Followed in his father’s tyre tracks by competing with Nigel Mansell, Derek Warwick and Geoff Lees in Formula Ford. Progression into Sportscar racing saw two class wins at Le Mans and subsequently a successful move into Thouroughbred Grand Prix cars, one of a number of UK and European race series that BMTR supplies.

“BMTR has been a pillar of the West Midlands motoring scene for longer than any of us can remember, and yet it is a company that has matched the latest technology with its heritage provide a unique depth of service. At Group Tyre we want to pay tribute to what is a continuing industry achievement and to congratulate our colleagues at BMTR,” said Group Tyre chairman, John Church, commenting on the company’s anniversary.

On another side of the business, the company continues its policy of “expansion on all fronts,” with the recent acquisition of an additional 20,000 square feet of new warehouse space. Paul Smith explained that this is geared towards the wholesale area of the business, enabling increased levels of stock to be held across both front line and budget brands. “This initiative is better enabling us to offer service to both our existing and new customer base. Service support radiates around 40 miles from Birmingham city centre. Our aim is to continually improve service to enable us to give better first time availability on all Group Tyre supported brands,” he said.

4th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel Aims to Expand into Europe

Following the news that Amtel was in “detailed discussions” with Vredestein Banden, Amtel president, Sudhir Gupta has confirmed that his company will buy Vredestein Banden and that it is planning initial public offerings (IPO) in London and Moscow in the next two years.

According to Dr Gupta, Amtel is planning a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange followed by a secondary listing on the Russian Stock Exchange. In a conversation with far eastern business publication, Business Times, Dr Gupta explained why the IPO would take place in London and not New York. “Europeans always understand Russia better than the Americans and most of the investment in Russia is European. That’s why we think London is a better place to list.” The secondary listing is also the result of ‘encouragement’ from the authorities for successful companies to list on the Russian Stock Exchange, and because “the stock exchange has good liquidity because of high oil prices.”

The listings are due to take place in one of two time frames; either October to November 2005 or April to May the year after, the Amtel president said.

Currently, Dr Gupta owns about 85 per cent of Amtel. An international investment fund managed by Templeton Asset Management Ltd, owns 5.65 per cent, while 10 per cent of Amtel’s shares were recently sold in a private placement for $34.2 million. These shares were bought by about 22 institutional investors in Europe, the US and Russia.

It is clear that a key part of Amtel’s expansion plans will involve venturing outside of Russian borders. One part of this is the company’s purchase of Vredestein Banden. By purchasing the Dutch company, Amtel appears to have been aiming to buy a ready-made foothold in the market. At the moment Vredestein sells 40 per cent its tyres in Europe’s biggest market (Germany) and has well organised distribution operations across Europe.
When the news of this transaction broke, Tyres & Accessories spoke to Vredestein CEO, Rob Oudshoorn. He described the venture as a win-win situation, saying, “one plus one equals three.” When the Vredestein boss visited Amtel’s factory in the summer, he said that he was surprised to see such modern equipment, maintaining that it was of a similar standard to Vredestein’s Enschede facility.

From his point of view, there is still a quality gap between imported products and those produced in Russia. Apart from believing that it can fill this gap, Vredestein sees Amtel’s size and influence as positive factors that will help it to reach further.
For Dr Gupta, there were other economic reasons for the transaction. “We had two options, either go ahead, spend money and time to build a global brand out of Amtel or go out and do some acquisition. So we agreed to buy this brand,” he told Business Times adding “we are looking to buy 100 per cent.” According to Amtel’s president, the sale is expected to be completed by middle of March 2005. When the two companies merge, they are expected to have a combined market value of $1 billion.

Dr Gupta is surprisingly pragmatic about doing business in Russia. This is surprising, because only a few years ago he survived an assassination attempt, something that would put most people off a country. According to the businessman, the men responsible for the murder attempt have been caught and will be prosecuted very soon. Despite his experience, Dr Gupta still believes Russia is a good place to do business, citing the country’s geographical position, the education of its people and its rich supply of natural resources as reasons to stay.

4th February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel Revenues up 18 per cent

Amtel Holdings Holland (AHH) has announced that company revenues grew to $451 million in 2004, up 18 per cent. “Amtel produced more than 14 million tyres in 2004, making it a record-breaking year,” Mr Gurin noted. The unaudited results were made public by AHH managing director, Alexei Gurin, during a press briefing at Russia’s biggest annual tyre exhibition – Tires & Rubber 2005.

2nd February 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Vredestein to Take Amtel to North America?

Amtel’s acquisition of Vredestein Banden might result in the Russian brand’s introduction to the North American market, Marc Luyten, Vredestein Banden’s director of marketing and sales, according to a Modern Tire Dealer Report. Mr Luyten’s suggestion follows the news that Amtel will buy Vredestein and is planning initial public offerings on the London and Moscow stock exchanges.

31st January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Phoenix Boosts Continental Sales

Continental was able to improve sales by nearly €1 billion (approximately £700 million) to around €12.5 billion last year thanks to the acquisition Phoenix, according to Manfred Wennemer. The AFP new agency has reported that a company spokeswomen has confirmed Mr Wennemer’s earlier comments. The Continental chairman also reported that the company’s overall net debt fell below one billion euros last year.

26th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Cooper to Buy 11 per cent of Kumho Tire

Cooper Tire & Rubber has announced that it has agreed to acquire approximately 11 per cent of the common equity of Kumho Tire. Cooper reports that the acquisition is in connection with a planned initial public offering on the London and Korean stock exchanges. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2005, remains subject to a number of government and regulatory approvals.

10th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Accuride Acquires Transportation Technologies Industries

Accuride Corporation (Evansville/Indiana), North America’s largest manufacturer and supplier of wheels for heavy/medium trucks and trailers, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Transportation Technologies Industries, Inc. (TTI), one of the largest North American manufacturers of truck components for the heavy and medium-duty trucking industry. The common stock of both companies is privately held. Upon completion of the merger, the combined company will offer the trucking industry a onestop component sourcing solution and expects to become one of the predominant suppliers to the heavy/medium commercial vehicle industry.

28th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Amtel Expands into Europe

Following the news that Amtel was in “detailed discussions” with Vredestein Banden, Amtel president, Sudhir Gupta has confirmed that his company will buy Vredestein Banden and that it is planning initial public offerings (IPO) in London and Moscow in the next two years.

According to Dr Gupta, Amtel is planning a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange followed by a secondary listing on the Russian Stock Exchange. In a conversation with far eastern business publication, Business Times, Dr Gupta explained why the IPO would take place in London and not New York. “Europeans always understand Russia better than the Americans and most of the investment in Russia is European. That’s why we think London is a better place to list.” The secondary listing is also the result of ‘encouragement’ from the authorities for successful companies to list on the Russian Stock Exchange, and because “the stock exchange has good liquidity because of high oil prices.”

The listings are due to take place in one of two time frames; either October to November 2005 or April to May the year after, the Amtel president said. Currently, Dr Gupta owns about 85 per cent of Amtel. An international investment fund managed by Templeton Asset Management Ltd, owns 5.65 per cent, while 10 per cent of Amtel’s shares were recently sold in a private placement for $34.2 million. These shares were bought by about 22 institutional investors in Europe, the US and Russia.

It is clear that a key part of Amtel’s expansion plans will involve venturing outside of Russian borders. One part of this is the company’s purchase of Vredestein Banden. By purchasing the Dutch company, Amtel appears to have been aiming to buy a ready-made foothold in the market. At the moment Vredestein sells 40 per cent its tyres in Europe’s biggest market (Germany) and has well organised distribution operations across Europe.

8th December 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Bridgestone to Purchase Rubber Estates from Goodyear

Bridgestone Corporation today announced that it has entered into an agreement with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company to purchase 95 per cent of the American company’s stake in Goodyear Sumatra Plantations (GSP). Terms of the pending purchase have not been disclosed.

GSP, which began operations in 1917, is one of the largest natural rubber estates in North Sumatra Indonesia. Its activities include the planting, growing, tapping and processing of natural rubber. GSP has approximately 18,000 total hectares (47,000 total acres) with approximately 5,000 employees.

Bridgestone said its acquisition of GSP is part of its aim to secure a stable supply of natural rubber and to increase its research and development in this area. The group supplies some of its own demand for steel cord, synthetic rubber and natural rubber, as well as carbon black.

30th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Nokian and Matador Expand Cooperation

Nokian and Matador are to expand their co-operation, the companies report. The two tyre manufacturers signed an agreement on 5 November, which will see Nokian increase the number of passenger car tyres that are produced at Matador’s plant in Slovakia. In conjunction with this, Nokian Tyres and Matador also signed an agreement on machinery acquisition. The Finnish company will purchase new equipment at a cost of around 3 million euros in order to secure the production capacity at Matador’s tyre plant.

The objective is to increase the present production of 300,000 tyres to 500,000 tyres in 2005 and to gradually increase the volume to 1 million tyres.

According to Nokian, the manufactured tyres will mainly be Nokian-branded passenger car tyres intended primarily for the Central European markets. The contract manufacturing agreement will be valid until the end of 2009 and after that renewed for one year at a time. The new agreement will replace the earlier agreement signed in January 2003.

8th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

The Russians want Vredestein

Russia’s largest tyre manufacturer, Amtel, wants to take over Vredestein’s tyre unit. The Dutch manufacturer’s CEO, Rob Oudshoorn, confirmed with Tyres & Accessories that “detailed discussions” are well underway and an acquisition could take place in early 2005.

5th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors