Apollo Tyres has announced the sale of a part of its South African operations to Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) for $60 million (Rs337 crore).
SRI will get rights to the ‘Dunlop Tyres’ brand across Africa, take over the sales network of Apollo Tyres South Africa (ATSA) and also the Ladysmith passenger car tyre plant while Apollo will retain the Durban plant that manufactures truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres and off-highway tyres (OHT) used in the mining and construction industries.
STOCK MARKETS LINKS
* Best Performing Mutual Funds
Apollo had acquired Dunlop Tyres International (later renamed as ATSA) in 2006. While the deal will take up to four months for closure, a separate deal will enable Apollo to continue using the sales network for a fixed period of time, till it sets up its own channel in Africa. Apollo will also continue to contract the Ladysmith plant to make passenger car tyres for the African market till it sets up its own facility for the same while SRI can also source commercial vehicle tyres from Apollo.