Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. was reportedly sued by one of its investors in a bid to block the company’s $2.5 billion takeover by Apollo Tyres Ltd., saying the offer of US$35 wasn’t high enough. According to a Bloomberg report, the Booth Family Trust said in a filing at Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington: “The proposed transaction is the result of an unfair process [and] was negotiated and entered into in bad faith…”.
Shares in Apollo Tyres Ltd plunged by up to 21 per cent the day the company announced its purchase of Cooper Tire. According to local news sources, it has been over 20 years since the share price fell this much. The negative sentiment is likely to related to the price Apollo has agreed to pay for Cooper, which at $35 a share, is far higher than the company’s 11 June closing price of $24.56 and potential price tags of around $25 that were mooted around the time rumours of the deal emerged in October 2012.
In premarket trading on 12 June, shares in Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. surged 40.3 per cent to US$34.45 per share following news of Apollo Tyres Ltd’s agreement to acquire the company for around $2.5 billion, or $35.00 a share, in cash. Shares in rival tyre maker Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. also rose six per cent following the Apollo/Cooper deal’s announcement.
Apollo Tyres’ Chennai facility in southern India has won the Platinum prize in the large size category of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI) Quality Systems Awards for Manufacturing 2012. This highest-level award was presented to Apollo Tyres by Saurabh Chandra, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India.
Apollo Tyres has confirmed news of its approval as an original equipment supplier to the Volkswagen Passat. An Apollo spokesman told Tyres & Accessories that “this approval is for Passats manufactured anywhere in the world with same specs as in India.”
Apollo Tyres has opened its sales hub to the ASEAN region in Bangkok. The region has become one of Apollo’s strongest export markets for its India produced tyres, the company said. Over the last three years, Apollo said the region has doubled in sales.
Several Indian motoring websites state that Volkswagen has selected Apollo Tyres as a global supplier for its Passat model. No further details were given, and at this stage neither Volkswagen nor Apollo have confirmed these reports or provided any further details.
Apollo Tyres is said to be finalising plans to establish a new greenfield factory in Asia. Indian financial daily The Economic Times reported on 8 April that the tyre maker is close to making a decision on location.
Apollo Tyres South Africa intends to reintroduce the Dunlop tyre brand into Nigeria. The country’s Guardian newspaper reports Apollo Tyres South Africa CEO Riaz Haffejee as saying the brand will return due to its long history in Nigeria. Distribution will be handled by Somotex Nigeria Limited; Haffejee commented that Somotex has the requisite distribution channels for the job.
Following a claimed development time of just six months, Apollo Tyres has rolled out its new Amazer 3G, a tyre specifically intended for fitment on Mahindra and Mahindra’s first electric car, the e2o. The rolling resistance optimised Amazer 3G is standard fitment for the e2o in size 155/70 R13 – a size the vehicle manufacture exclusively acquires from Apollo.
In addition to debuting its Alnac 4G, Apollo Tyres has released its latest Vredestein-branded product at the Geneva Motor Show. This new Apollo Vredestein release is the Ultrac Vorti R, an ultra high performance tyre with an “increased focus on grip and sportiness.” The Ultrac Vorti R was developed in collaboration with Italian design house, Giugiaro.
The Geneva Motor Show is now underway and Apollo Tyres has presented its brand-new Alnac 4G there. This tyre, the second 4th generation product from Apollo, is specifically designed for compact and mid-size car segments. The Alnac 4G will initially be available in 29 V and H speed rated sizes. Apollo shares that all sizes have a ‘B’ wet grip label rating and a ‘C’ rolling resistance rating; noise levels are 69db.
The All India Tyre Dealers' Federation (AITDF) has approached the country’s Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT), a body that handles appeals against any decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), regarding the clean bill of health the CCI gave tyre makers when it investigated cartelisation claims. Last October the CCI found no evidence of cartelisation in the tyre industry, and thus dismissed a complaint filed by the AITDF. The manufacturers in question, Apollo Tyres, MRF, JK Tyre, Ceat and Birla Tyres, along with the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association, faced no penalty. These five manufacturers are said to control 95 per cent of India’s domestic tyre market.
It appears Apollo Tyres may have shelved its plans to establish a greenfield plant in Eastern Europe. Indian Financial Daily the Financial Chronicle writes that the tyre maker has “decided to drop its tyre plant proposal in the Eastern Europe region now due to declining volumes and uncertain economic environment.” Further details were not supplied.
In the three months to 31 December 2012, Apollo Tyres Ltd’s net sales grew 9.4 per cent to Rs 97.57 billion (£1.17 billion), while net profit jumped 86.1 per cent to 1.8 billion (£21.63 million). Operating profit for the third quarter of Apollo’s 2012-13 financial year amounted to Rs 4.1 billion (£49.27 million), up from Rs 3.3 billion a year earlier.
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