India’s Apollo Tyres has closed a deal to buy Vredestein Banden, the Dutch division of bankrupt tyre maker Amtel-Vredestein, which has operations in Russia, business daily Vedomosti reported, citing a press release from Apollo.
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The two companies did not disclose the value of the deal. However, an unnamed source told the Wall Street Journal that Apollo paid EUR175m (US$239m) for the plant, while a source close to Amtel-Vredestein told Vedomosti that the deal was worth EUR150m ($204m). Lenders of Vredestein Banden will receive most of the funds under the deal, Vedomosti reported, citing Amtel-Vredestein CEO Nikolai Khalko. The plant’s debt amounts to slightly less than $200m.
Amtel-Vredestein bought Vredestein Banden in 2005 and took out a EUR138m loan to finance the deal. Amtel-Vredestein’s debt reached $561m by the end of 2008, and the company declared bankruptcy in late April. Amtel-Vredestein is currently preparing to initiate bankruptcy proceedings for its Russian unit of the same name.
