Goodyear offers to buy out Debica shareholders

ERJ staff report (DS)

Akron, Ohio -- Luxembourg-headquartered Goodyear S.A. is to make a cash tender offer to acquire any and all outstanding shares of Polish tyre company TC Debica for 59.52 PLN per share. Currently, Goodyear owns 65.99 percent of TC Debica's 13.8 million outstanding shares. This makes the deal worth around PLN 280 million (euro 67.1 million)

The offer will open on October 12 and conclude at the close of business in Poland on November 10, 2009. The transaction will be funded with Goodyear's cash and available credit.

TC Debica is a contract manufacturer for Goodyear. Approximately 80 percent of the tyres it produces are sold to Goodyear or Goodyear subsidiaries under various Goodyear brands. Most of the rest are sold by TC Debica in Poland under the Debica brand. Goodyear S.A. acquired 59.87 percent of TC Debica's stock in December 1995 and an additional 6.12 percent in March 2008.

Since Goodyear's acquisition of a majority stake, some of the minority shareholders have suggested that Goodyear distorts the selling price of materials and services to TC Debica and also the purchase price of tyres, in order to reduce the overall profit of TC Debica. This move would remove all such suspicion.

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Press release from Goodyear