Chengshan to buy out Cooper for US$286 million

Chengshan Group Company Ltd. intends to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Company’s 65 per cent ownership in the two companies’ Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company Ltd (CCT) joint-venture. Owing to the fact that the purchase offer is based on a pre-agreed “call option”, which itself is priced on the back of an agreed valuation of US$440 million, this means Chengshan has agreed to pay roughly US$286 million for the company. Cooper’s share price fell a dollar from around $29 to roughly $28 in response to the announcement.