Yokohama reports Goodyear OTR acquisition 'proceeding smoothly'
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. says its acquisition of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s off-the-road (OTR) tire business “is proceeding smoothly.”
The Tokyo, Japan-based company provided the update in a summary of its latest financial results, published on Nov. 14.
The sale of Goodyear’s OTR tire business unit to Yokohama, which was announced this past July, is subject to regulatory approval and is scheduled to close in early 2025.
Yokohama says its acquisition of Goodyear's OTR division will contribute to the ongoing expansion of its off-highway tire business.
The company expects the global OTR tire market to grow around 6% per year — “considerably higher than the projected 2% annual growth for the consumer tire market.”
Yokohama believes it is already “well-positioned” in the ag and forestry tire categories, which it estimates accounts for about 40% of the total off-highway tire market.
Read more: Love’s, Speedco to discount DOT inspections, Yokohama tires in May
The purchase of Goodyear’s OTR tire division, which manufactures tires up to 63 inches in diameter, is designed to complement Yokohama’s product range in non-agricultural applications.
Yokohama will acquire all shares of Nippon Giant Tire Co. Ltd., which operates Goodyear’s OTR tire plant in Japan, plus Goodyear Earthmover Pty. Ltd. in Australia, in addition to “certain OTR assets at the other plants and facilities around the world.”
This includes Goodyear’s OTR tire retreading plant in Canada.
The spin-off of Goodyear’s OTR tire business is part of the Akron, Ohio-based tiremaker’s Goodyear Forward plan, which is “going very well,” Mark Stewart, Goodyear’s CEO and president, recently told Fleet Maintenance's sister publication, MTD.
This article was originally published on ModernTireDealer.com.
