Separate Cooper contracts required before Apollo deal proceeds
As well as needing to sort out issues at the Cooper Chengshan plant, Cooper Tire & Rubber and Apollo Tyres now face an additional barrier to acquisition. Last Friday an arbitrator ruled that Cooper cannot sell its Findlay and Texarkana plants in the US until Apollo secures new collective bargaining agreements with the United Steelworkers union and the 2,500 or so unionised workers at the two factories. This agreement is separate from the existing contract the union has with Cooper Tire.