Reuters is reporting union leaders at a closed Goodyear plant in northern France have agreed to talks with Morry Taylor, Titan International chairman and CEO. Taylor infamously said earlier in 2013 that the plant wasn’t worth saving, but reports suggest he is reconsidering his abandoned takeover bid for the plant. The French union wants give their demands directly to Taylor in his US office, Tire Review reports.
On October 7th, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company issued a statement regarding the pending merger with Apollo Tyres, in which Cooper makes it plain that it believes that a reduction in share price is unwarranted. The statement, in full, reads as follows:
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has filed a legal complaint against the company that has agreed to buy it in a friendly takeover, Apollo Tyres. Cooper filed a complaint on 4 October in Delaware Chancery Court asking that “subsidiaries of Apollo Tyres Ltd be required to expeditiously close the pending merger between the two tyre companies in accordance with the terms of the definitive merger agreement”.
Within the next few hours, Cooper Tire & Rubber shareholders will cast their votes in favour or against Apollo Tyres’ bid to acquire the US tyre maker for US$2.5 billion.
Following news of industrial opposition to the on-going Apollo/Cooper takeover and even strikes at Cooper Chengshan in China, company representatives have broadly confirmed that there has been disquiet. However, while the local news coverage suggests this has been the case for nearly a month, Apollo representatives did not confirm this detail and report that the deal is very much on-track and indeed entering the end-game of what they referred to as a “compelling strategic transaction”.
Germany-based agricultural and off-road tyre specialist Bohnenkamp AG has appointed Gregor Rüth its new chief executive. Rüth begins in this role on 1 August and is now working together with fellow board member Michael Rieken to ensure a smooth takeover.
To say that June was an interesting month for the tyre industry is something of an understatement. It was explosive – and in at least one case literally so. But the drama of it all offers consumers a challenging life lesson.
Apollo Tyres joint chairman Neeraj Kanwar has spoken out in support of keeping and even expanding Apollo and Cooper’s existing manufacturing sites. With the dust still settling following the news of the acquisition of Cooper by Apollo, Kanwar’s comments, which came as part of an interview with Tyres & Accessories, appear to act as a further assurance that the company has no plans to close its manufacturing locations.
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…”.
On 13 May, the Schaeffler Group gave notice of its intention to terminate the mutual investment agreement it has held with Continental AG since 2008. The agreement will terminate in May 2014.
Italian firm Italmatic has been engaged in the manufacture of tyre retreading machinery since 1967. Today, the company operates two factories; its Cassina de’ Pecchi plant, just outside the city of Milan, produces inspection machines, buffers, builders, extruders, buffing blades, wheels, while the Capannori facility near Lucca specalises in autoclaves, presses and moulds. Italmatic says it is the only company capable of supplying machinery for the retreading of any kind of tyre and for any requirement from A to Z, through the supply of complete turnkey plants.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company has reported record net sales and operating profits in its third quarter 2012 financial results. According to the company, sales of US$1.1 billion (up 4 per cent) were a record. The company also reported record operating profit of $130 million, $82 million higher than in third quarter 2011 results and representing 11.8 per cent of net sales. Net income was also a significant improvement on last year’s $17 million, with the company posting a third quarter record of $74 million or $1.17 per share on a diluted basis.
Now the dust has settled from the first suggestions that Apollo Tyres was preparing to bid for Cooper Tire, the rumour mill has slowed considerably. There are those that are saying there is no smoke without fire when it comes to the reports published in the Indian and then global press; and there are those that believe it was all a carefully orchestrated publicity manoeuvre. Whatever the truth turns out to be, the interest surrounding this story is a reflection of the facts that the global market is ripe for consolidation and that there are a lot of ambitious tyre companies in and around the top 20 aiming to make it into the top 10.
Black Circles, the Peebles-based online tyre retailer established by Michael Welch, turned a profit in 2011 results. 10 years after it began trading, Blackcircles reportedly made a retained profit of £2295, according to The Herald newspaper.
News of Titan International’s moves to acquire Titan Europe PLC has been public for about a month now, but to fulfil Rule 2.7 of the Takeover Code, the company announced on 10 August its formal acquisition offer. In a statement, Titan International reports that agreement has been reached between the board of Titan International and the independent directors of Titan Europe on the terms of a recommended share offer for Titan Europe’s entire issued and to be issued share capital.
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