Trelleborg confirms acquisition interest from ‘external parties’

Following our coverage of Yokohama’s offer for Trelleborg Wheel Systems, the tyre and wheel manufacturer’s Swedish parent company Trelleborg AB has confirmed that “external parties have shown interest to acquire Trelleborg’s business area Trelleborg Wheel Systems”. At the same time, Titan International offered its view on third-party interest in Trelleborg Wheel Systems.

Trelleborg’s short confirmatory statement confirms some details of our initial coverage: “Trelleborg confirms, given recent speculations and rumours in media, that external parties have shown interest to acquire Trelleborg’s business area Trelleborg Wheel Systems.” Trelleborg hasn’t confirmed the identity of its bidders. However, the fact that the statement refers to “parties” indicates that there could be more than one bidder.

In any case discussions are said to be “at an early stage” and Trelleborg refuses to “communicate any further on this matter” at the moment.  But “should the discussions advance and develop into a situation where additional information is relevant” further updates are expected.

Trelleborg’s confirmation that “external parties” are bidding for Trelleborg Wheel Systems was released on 27 December 2021. On 21 December, roughly a week after the initial reports of Yokohama’s interest in Trelleborg Wheel Systems were published, Titan International chairman Maurice Taylor released his own commentary on the potential transaction, warning: “Yokohama may face challenges with antitrust laws because of the amount of business their operation in India ships into Europe”.

Whether Taylor’s hints during December that the agricultural/OTR tyre market is continuing to consolidate combined with his latest comments on the specifics of a Yokohama-Trelleborg Wheel Systems combination demonstrate a level of interest consistent with that of a potential buyer or a leading player uninterested in the arrival of newly-expanded competitor remains to be seen.