Warburg Pincus is now a shareholder in Apollo Tyres Ltd. During a meeting yesterday, the tyre maker’s Committee of Directors – Private Placement allocated Emerald Sage Investment Ltd., an affiliate of the private equity firm, 54,000,000 compulsorily convertible preference shares. Emerald Sage paid a total of Rs s. 5,400,000,000 (£57.56 million) for the shares in this first tranche transaction, or Rs 100 each.
At a meeting held on Friday, Apollo Tyres Ltd.’s Board of Directors approved the issue of Rs 10 billion (£105 million) worth of non-convertible debentures (NCBs) via a private placement. The NCBs will be issued in one or more tranches according to the limits approved by shareholders at the tyre maker’s Annual General Meeting on 31 July 2019.
Braking systems company Brembo S.p.A. has announced that it holds an interest in consumer tyre manufacturer and fellow Formula 1 supplier Pirelli. As of 31 March 2020, Brembo holds a 2.43 per cent stake in Pirelli, both directly and through its parent company Nuova FourB.
Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is investing around £117 million in Apollo Tyres via a subsidiary. On 26 February, the tyre maker’s Board of Directors approved the issue of up to 108 million compulsorily convertible preference shares, each with a face value of Rs 100, to Emerald Sage Investment Ltd. The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
According to a statement filed with the Securities and Exchanges Commission in the USA, investment management firm BlackRock Inc. has increased its shareholding in Titan International from 12.94 per cent to 14.0 per cent. The Schedule 13G form states that BlackRock now owns 8,428,280 shares in Titan International, an increase of 8.16 per cent over the shareholding it previously reported.
Bridgestone reports that it yesterday completed the cancellation of Treasury Stock pursuant to Article 178 of the Companies Act, a measure decided upon at a meeting of its Board of Directors on 15 February 2019. A total of 47,838,200 common shares have been cancelled, 6.8 per cent of issued shares.
Directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company have declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.16 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable 2 March 2020 to shareholders of record on 3 February 2020. The payout represents an annual rate of 64 cents per share.
Bridgestone Corporation has significantly reduced its shareholding in Nokian Tyres. In a stock exchange release, the Finnish tyre maker reports that, as of 12 December 2019, Bridgestone’s shareholding has decreased from 9.96 per cent to 3.0 per cent. Bridgestone now holds 4,167,653 shares in Nokian Tyres.
Michelin – Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin, to use the company’s full name – has decided to cancel 1,345,821 treasury shares, representing 0.75 per cent of the total shares outstanding. As indicated in a Euronext notice last week, the effective date of the resulting capital reduction is 9 December 2019.
Michelin intends to acquire all shares in Société Internationale de Plantations d’Hévéas (SIPH) not already owned by itself or Ivory Coast-based company SIFCA. It is launching a public buyout offer on 7 November, offering 85 euros per share. This buyout offer is being made exclusively in France and will be followed by a squeeze out.
Titan International, Inc. has reduced its shareholding in steel wheel manufacturer Wheels India Limited. It sold, via a wholly-owned subsidiary, a 10.4 per cent stake in Wheels India on 3 October, thereby dropping its share in the company from 34.2 to 23.8 per cent. Titan International intends to use the net proceeds of approximately US$19 million received from the transaction to pay down outstanding indebtedness.
While Park Sam-koo won’t bid to acquire the Kumho Tire shareholding currently held by its creditors, he already holds one particular asset, and he’s not willing to simply let go of it. Through subsidiary Kumho Industrial, the Kumho Asiana Group chairman controls rights to the Kumho brand name. Park is prepared to allow whoever acquires the 42.01 per cent share in Kumho Tire to use the Kumho name – provided they pay for the privilege. This is a point that will likely complicate any potential sale.
Yokohama Rubber stock has been selected for inclusion in two additional indices that focus on the stocks of companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. In addition to the FTSE Russell FTSE4Good Index, which it has been a component of for 13 consecutive years, Yokohama Rubber has been newly included in FTSE Russell’s FTSE Blossom Japan Index and MSCI Inc.’s MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index.
The creditors who hold a 42 per cent share in Kumho Tire are said to have begun the process of selling the tyre maker. Reuters reports a spokesperson for Korea Development Bank, the largest Kumho Tire shareholder, as giving November or thereabouts as the deadline for initial letters of interest, with main bids coming in or around January. Credit Suisse has been appointed to manage the deal.
