Nexion SpA has agreed to acquire Kompunet Informatica, a leading software and data provider in the automotive sector. As a result, Kompunet will become part of the Nexion Group. Kompunet CEO Antonio Russo will remain in the group carrying out the Kompunet projects.
Brembo has signed an agreement for the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in SBS Friction A/S, a Danish company which develops and manufactures sintered and organic material brake pads for motorcycles. The transaction entails a consideration of 224 million Danish Krone, equal to approximately £27 million. The company will pay this using available cash. Enterprise value is 300 million Danish Krone (£36 million). Brembo expects the agreement’s finalisation in the first quarter of 2021.
Akron Rubber Development Laboratory, Inc. (ARDL) has purchased all Experimental Services Inc’s (ESI) assets on 16 October, ARDL announced in a statement on 5 November. ESI describes itself as, “An engineering laboratory for engineers and researchers.” Providing static, dynamic, fatigue and vibration testing for the past thirty years, ESI’s focus has “allowed it to become the best at what it does” ARDL stated.
Michelin has added to its portfolio of non-tyre business assets with the acquisition of all outstanding shares in Le Fooding three years after the two companies first began collaborating. The deal is the culmination of an agreement signed with the co-founders of Le Fooding in 2017 – after Michelin acquired a 40 per cent stake in its share capital – that provided for Michelin’s future acquisition of the remaining interest.
Hexpol AB (publ) has appointed Georg Brunstam as president and CEO of Hexpol AB (publ) effective 20 November 2020. Georg Brunstam is currently chairman of the Board for Hexpol AB (publ) and had previously been President and CEO for Hexpol AB (publ) 2007-2017.
German asset management firm Aurelius Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA is acquiring the GKN Wheels & Structures business from GKN. The transaction is expected to complete in November and is conditional on receiving anti-trust approval. Following the deal’s completion, GKN Wheels & Structures will gain an as-yet-undisclosed new name.
Camso, the off-road tyre specialist acquired by Michelin in 2018, has grown its off-highway transportation tyre service and distribution presence in North America with the acquisition of two material-handling solutions businesses from Metro Industrial Tires. These businesses are based in Chicago and provide service to the market via their own press truck fleets.
Today Yokohama announced that it is consolidating its OTR tyre businesses into Yokohama Off-Highway Tires, which could be read as a prelude to the announcement Yokohama’s bid for the Prometeon tyre business. Roughly a year after the story broke, Yokohama’s bid for Prometeon isn’t the best kept secret in the tyre industry. Tyres & Accessories first heard talk of Yokohama’s bid for the ex-Pirelli industrial and commercial vehicle tyre business back in July 2019. The news was reported world-wide after we broke the story in September 2019, followed days later by third-party confirmation from the Chinese side of the deal. At that time, the deal was set to go public by the end of 2019. A few months later at the start of 2020, the timeframe switched to an end-of-first-quarter 2020 deadline. Then the coronavirus pandemic happened. And in the months that have followed things have gone quiet. So, where is Yokohama’s bid for Prometeon up to? The latest news is that deal is still on-track, but that there have been a few changes along the way. Here, Tyres & Accessories brings an update on the status of the acquisition and offers a different view on the deal by looking at it from a South American perspective.
Private equity firm Palatine Private Equity has completed the acquisition of a majority shareholding in NRG Fleet Services Ltd, a fast-growing provider of specialist services to the commercial vehicle sector. Headquartered in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and operating 10 national technical centres, NRG has annual revenues of £90m and employs 280 people. It comprises two divisions, Riverside Truck Rental and Direct Tyre Management.
On Friday 18 September 2020, it emerged that Kwik-Fit and European Tyre Enterprises Ltd (ETEL) owner Itochu has appointed investment bankers Nomura to act as its strategic investment consultancy with relation to the future of its European tyre business. The move has been widely interpreted as sale preparation. In light of the news, Tyres & Accessories contacted ETEL and Kwik-Fit representatives in order to find out more. Both declined to comment officially. However, supplementary information on Itochu’s third-quarter 2020 and full fiscal year 2020 results give further details of the conglomerate’s explanation as to why the company did not present a 2021 profit forecast for ETEL as it normally would.
Netherlands-based tyre wholesaler Heuver has grown through its acquisition of the Bevri Groep, a wholesaler from Zeewolde in central Netherlands. Heuver will operate the two Bevri businesses, Bevri Banden (Bevri Tyres) and Bevri Wheels, as an independent company within the Heuver Group, retaining a separate corporate identity. The wholesaler says that by combining the strengths of both companies, it can now “offer an even more complete range” of tyres and wheels.
Nokian Tyres has sold its Vianor US business to Oregon-based Point S member Gills Point S Tire. The transaction covers ten Vianor service centres, with all current Vianor US service centre employees will be taken on by Gills Point S Tire & Auto Service.
Mahansaria Tyres Private Ltd (MTPL) has completed the previously announced acquisition of a majority stake in European Agriculture Tyre Distributor (EATD). As a result, EATD has relocated its operations from Strijen, The Netherlands, to Wallenhorst in Germany.
McConechys Tyre Service, which was bought by Halfords last year, is migrating its website to the Halfords.com portal. At the same time as making the website migration announcement, company representatives revealed: “All of the [49 form McConechy’s] garages have been trained to provide the same services that would be expected at a Halfords Autocentre, including both on demand and bookable services.
Nexion
ARDL
Kerr’s Tyres
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