Pirelli in talks with a number of bidders before ChemChina deal
With coverage of ChemChina’s purchase of Pirelli waning, various newswires have been reporting market rumours that Bridgestone has been preparing a counterbid for Pirelli. However, in an interview with Reuters on 26 March, Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera said that such a move would be “a disaster”. He supported ChemChina’s bid, on the other hand, saying it is: good for the future of Pirelli and guarantees its global growth.
Continue ReadingMichelin amends share buyback agreement
The partial share buyback scheme authorised at Michelin’s Annual Shareholders Meeting on 16 May 2014 and announced and further reported in January 2015 has been amended in regards to its term and maximum limit. Under these changed terms, a Michelin-appointed investment service provider will now sell an unspecified number of Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin shares, representing a maximum amount of €75 million instead of a maximum of one million shares, as originally announced. The shares will be sold until 30 September 2015, rather than the previously announced date of 27 November 2015.
Continue ReadingIs Yokohama’s Top Gear Live sponsorship in doubt after Clarkson dismissal?
Now that Jeremy Clarkson must be considered an ex-Top Gear presenter, the future of the planned Top Gear Live arena tour also been called into question. Four shows due to take place in Norway were postponed with replacement dates yet to be announced while the BBC’s investigation into Clarkson’s behaviour was completed. Having reported its findings that Clarkson made “an unprovoked physical and verbal attack” on his producer on 25 March, it appears the shows, and the rest of the ambitious Top Gear Live arena tour, remain in jeopardy – a potential marketing headache for the UK tour’s title sponsor Gocompare, and tyre supplier, Yokohama.
Continue ReadingOctober production start for Yokohama’s US tyre plant
According to a progress update on the the Yokohama tyre factory currently being built in the United States, work on the approximately 1 million square foot (92,900 square metre) commercial vehicle tyre plant in West Point, Mississippi is on schedule and now nearing completion. Many of the key construction, equipment installation and job recruitment milestones have reportedly been reached on schedule, and the Yokohama Tire Manufacturing Mississippi facility is now on target to begin production in October 2015.
Continue ReadingFan loyalty the focus of Hankook Tire’s latest football campaign
All English clubs may have already been knocked out, but eight teams remain in with a chance to win this year’s Europa League final, which will take place in Warsaw, Poland on 27 May. If your favourite team is still in the running, your support could pay off. In association with the UEFA Europa League, Hankook Tire has launched the ‘Hankook Digital Fan Match’ campaign and invites fans to show their support for the quarter finalists.
Continue ReadingPirelli/ChemChina deal, the story so far
On 22 March 2015 Pirelli was sold to ChemChina in a move that was both broadly expected and yet surprising at the same time. Expected inasmuch as Pirelli’s top management had been hinting at an exit for the last couple of years. Surprising due to the identity of the successful bidder and because of the speed at which the acquisition appears to have been agreed. But it was not a surprise who had been in high level talks with the Chinese for around three years. Here Tyres & Accessories compiles the latest details relating to the enormously influential story and considers what the impact will be on the company itself as well as the wider market place.
Continue ReadingApollo moves European truck tyre OE R&D to Enschede
Attending the Geneva Motor Show is about original equipment (OE) positioning as much as it is about brand building. So when ambitious and fast-growing firms such as Apollo Tyres continue to make significant investments in such an exhibition it provokes questions about the company’s OE strategy. Geneva may ostensibly be about the latest and best cars, but our conversation with Apollo executives quickly shifted to the commercial vehicle tyres sector. Tyres & Accessories spoke with Apollo Tyres vice-chairman and managing director Neeraj Kanwar as well as chief business officer Sunam Sarkar in order to find out more about this as well as to consider the company’s future retreading options.
Continue ReadingTronchetti: Pirelli/ChemChina deal won’t affect employment
Following confirmation that ChemChina is set to buy Pirelli, the Italian manufacturer’s CEO, Marco Tronchetti Provera, has sought to re-assure employees that “the agreement with the Chinese will have no impact on employment”. Specifically this means R&D will remain in Italy, for example. For his part, Tronchetti was characteristically upbeat about the deal: “The opportunity with a partner like ChemChina is for the company to become bigger and to have a more effective penetration of the Asian market.”
Continue ReadingPirelli truck tyre business to merge with Aeolus
Following the news that Pirelli is effectively being bought by ChemChina (the state-owned parent company of Chinese brands including Aeolus), further details – namely the implications of the transaction on the truck tyre sector – are continuing to emerge. According to various news sources, it now looks likely that the Italian company’s truck tyre business will be merged with Aeolus Tyres (which is itself best-known for its commercial vehicle tyre products). Reuters made this claim by citing a statement from former Pirelli controlling shareholding company Camfin, which said Pirelli’s truck and industrial tyre business would be “folded into ChemChinas listed unit Aeolus, allowing it to double its output”.
Continue ReadingCima Impianti manufacturing customer-specific facilities
Cima Impianti – which has been headquartered in Pistoia, Tuscany since 1953 – has from the very beginning focused upon the manufacture of tyre retreading equipment, particularly presses for mould cure retreading, and, in the past decade, on CNC buffing machines for passenger car, truck and OTR tyres.
Continue ReadingPirelli shareholding to be controlled by ChemChina
In the early hours of 23 March 2015 Beijing Time, ChemChina’s China National Tire & Rubber Co. (CNRC) subsidiary signed an agreement with Camfin S.p.A. to purchase Camfin’s 26.2 per cent Pirelli shareholding at 15 euros a share. This values Pirelli at around 7.1 billion euros (£5.15 billion pounds). A joint tender offer by ChemChina, Camfin and other investors on the rest of Pirelli’s shareholding is now expected to follow.
Continue ReadingWho is ChemChina?
With ChemChina in talks to buy Pirelli, Tyres & Accessories presents a brief introduction to the Chinese firm The China National Chemical Corporation (otherwise known as ChemChina) is Chinese a state-owned chemical, rubber and tyre business. Established in May 2004, ChemChina is run under the administration of SASAC (the Chinese State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission). The first thing we have to consider is the size of the company. ChemChina is a Fortune 500 company and call itself Chinas largest chemical company. Globally the firm places itself in 19th place.
Continue ReadingChemChina front-runner to buy Pirelli
News agencies are reporting China National Chemical Corporation, which names brands such as Aeolus amongst its number, is close to purchasing shares in Camfin, which own 26 per cent of Pirelli and would give ChemChina a controlling shareholding in Pirelli. For the last year or so Camfin has been owned by Russian oil firm Rosneft and a holding company of Pirellis chairman and chief executive, Marco Tronchetti Provera. Other significant shareholders include Italian banks Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.
Continue ReadingPirelli comments on acquisition speculation
At the request of Consob, the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission, Pirelli has issued a short statement regarding claims that company chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera is working with an Asian partner with a view to it partially or fully acquiring Pirelli.
Continue ReadingServicesure Autocentres appoints first national sales manager, anticipating growth
Servicesure Autocentres has appointed its first national sales manager, Jason McCreanney. Servicesure is a national garage programme developed by The Parts Alliance; the parts distributor said the appointment marked the start of “rapid growth” for the scheme. McCreanney currently works as a business project manager for Car Parts & Accessories (CPA), the Sussex headquartered motor factor acquired by The Parts Alliance in September last year. He officially takes up his new role on Wednesday, 1 April.
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