Amtel has secured a sum of private equity capital totaling US $70 million (£40 million). Following its recent acquisition of Vredestein the company has arranged equity financing from two leading groups, Alfa Group and Temasek Holdings, representing both domestic and international investors.
This week saw the official launch of Vredestein’s first high performance SUV winter tyre the Wintrac 4 Xtreme.
The manufacturer has transferred the characteristics of its passenger car tyre Wintrac Xtreme to the 4 Xtreme in an attempt to enter the growing 4×4 tyre market, a segment Vredestein describes as “a phenomenon.”
In the last financial year Vredestein Banden turned over more than 230 millions across its four product groups (passenger car, truck, bicycle, agricultural and industrial products). Although Vredestein does not normally publish official financial statements, the latest figures were released as part of an official statement on the company’s recent acquisition by Amtel. In 2003 the Vredestein Group recorded a turnover of some 305.6 million euros. Of this, about 200 million euros was said to have been generated by the new tyre business. If these figures are correct, 2004 must have been a good year for Vredestein Banden with turnover increasing by around 30 million euros.
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.
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.
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.
The Aftermarket Show will open its doors to tyre industry visitors at the NEC from 13 to 16 January next year. Organiser, Haymarket Exhibitions, believes that the show will be both relevant and appealing to all sectors of the industry.
“The tyre section of the show is sponsored by the TIC, and the NTDA is again taking a stand; this is an exhibition that the tyre and fast fit market is keen and willing to support,” says Haymarket’s group sales manager Giles Brown.
Exhibitors such as Vredestein, Nordisk, Rage, Eurosport, Autopart and equipment suppliers like Supertracker, Tecalamit and Mace Industries will all be returning for a second successive year.
The last show was the first to combine all elements of an aftermarket industry, elements that had previously been exhibited as separate entities within Autosport International. The move is also an attempt to emphasise the combination of business and pleasure, and the automotive exhibition takes place over a full weekend for the first time. More than 90,000 people, including almost 25,000 from the automotive trades, attended the NEC for the two shows in 2004.
Although the focus is on the consumer, brands such as Dunlop, Pirelli, Uniroyal, Yokohama, Kumho and Silverstone will all be displaying their latest motorsport and high performance ranges to visitors. Fulda will also be present and is sponsoring the Live Action Arena at Autosport International as part of its campaign to launch its ultra-high performance car tyres in the UK.
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.
The growing raw material prices have now also affected Vredestein’s price structure in Germany. Passenger car summer tyres, light truck tyres as well as all-season tyres will be 2.5 per cent more expensive from January onwards. The prices for agricultural tyres will be even increased by four per cent.
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.
According to Vredestein, winter didn’t begin until it had launched its new winter tyres. Described as “extreme design and function combined in an ultra high performance winter tyre,” the Swiss launch of the Dutch company’s latest offering was always going to be an interesting event. So far the company has remained tight-lipped about its latest product. Tyres & Accessories will report from Switzerland where invited guests will be given the opportunity to test the new tyre under what the company calls “extreme conditions,” including mountain top snow.
Vredestein has released a new ultra high performance tyre, the Wintrac Xtreme. Launched at a glitzy ceremony in a setting surrounded by mountainous Swiss scenery, the Dutch tyre manufacturer is clearly looking to make a statement with its newest product.
The Wintrac Xtreme is the first winter tyre Vredestein has produced in collaboration with design partners Giugaro. The company describes its aggressively firm lines and W-shaped tread as “powerful” selling point. The tyre features rim protection and will be available in sizes 205/55 R16 94 – 265/35 R18 97. It is, perhaps, a coincidence that the new product features a W shaped tread and has either a V or W speed rating, depending on size.
Vedestein’s UK managing director, Bert Stellinga, sees the new products as a kind of ultra high performance all-round winter tyre and, although it is capable of dealing with snow and ice, is keen to highlight the broad range of benefits associated with its product. “In wet conditions of up to 20’C, this one is just better.” According to the Mr Stellinga, if you want to drive your vehicle to full capacity at any time of the year than this is the one, adding “we should really call it an all-season tyre.”
Auto Express has completed its longest and largest ever test, confirming Vredestein as the number one, for the third year in a row.
The assessment put 16 different brands of tyres to the test, and nine different aspects of tyre performance were measured, including wet and dry braking characteristics, rolling resistance, cornering ability and resistance to aquaplaning.
The well-known motoring magazine described Vredestein’s Sportrac 2 as a “superb wet weather all rounder”. The tests confirmed that from a speed of 62 mph a car on Vredestein tyres stops quicker than any other and that on a wet road the Sportrac 2 beats the poorest performer by four car lengths.
“We are extremely proud that Vredestein tyres have again been shown to be the best quality tyre on the UK market,” commented Vredestein UK’s MD, Bert Stellinga. “It’s great to see the result of all the work that our engineers, our product development people and our partners Giugiaro Design have done in developing the Vredestein range of tyres.”
The magazine did not hide its surprise that the tyre, which performed so well in wet conditions could also perform well in the dry, writing: “It was a shock to see wet weather ace Vredestein at the top again.”
In the 2003 financial year the Vredestein group has generated a turnover of 305.6 million euros (£205 million) of which roughly 200 million euros (£134.3 million) stems from new tyre business, the company has said. With this turnover the Dutch tyre manufacturer achieved an EBIT of 18.6 million euros (£12.5 million) and net earnings of 9.1 million euros. Talking to Tyres & Accessories, Vredestein’s managing director Rob Oudshoorn, who is responsible for the tyre business of the group, said that the company would be as successful as its competitors this year. Mr Oudshoorn could not and would not give detailed business results.
The European Rubber Journal has reported that Dutch tyre manufacturer, Vredestein Tyres BV, made a total of 305.6 million euros (£206.8 million) in sales during 2003. In addition Vredestein made “earnings” of 18.6 million euros (£12.6 million) from tyres. The journal also reported that Vredestein Tyres BV has 2103 employees.
The company’s press office has not been able to answer doubts that these figures only refer to the tyre division. Vredestein has said it is unclear where The European Rubber Journal obtained its information, as the fact that the company is not listed on the stock exchange means it no longer publishes any business figures.
The reason for all the secrecy is also unclear and the fact that the company refuses to confirm or deny whether the year has been successful suggests there is a reason for its silence.
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