Conti to buy controlling stake in Matador Rubber

Hanover, Germany -- Continental AG

is set to acquire a 51 percent stake in the tyre, rubber and machinery

business of Matador Group, Puchov, Slovakia, subject to the ap­proval

of antitrust authorities. "With this move we are strengthening

our ties to our highly successful joint venture partner. At the same

time we are expanding our operational base in Eastern Europe markets

as well as our production capacities for passenger and light truck tyres (PLT) in low-cost countries,"

said Continental's executive board chairman Manfred Wennemer in Hanover.

“Operationally we intend to integrate Matador

into our brand portfolio and invest in expanding annual production

capacities for PLT from 5.5 to more than 7 million. This gives us a

highly efficient tool to be used against low-cost competition,”

Wennemer added. The Matador ma­chinery factory in Puchov will be

integrated into the machinery factory in Hanover-Stöcken as a

second pillar. On top of that, Continental gets additional capacities

for research and devel­opment.

The

ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group also stands to benefit from the

acquisition.
With

a workforce of 160, Matador manufactures a wide range of textile

belts in Slovakia. The ContiTech Conveyor Belt Group has eight

loca­tions in Chile, China, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, and

Mexico. With its approximately 2700 employees, it posted sales of

€379 million in 2006.

Continental and Matador have been in a 76-24 joint venture for the production of

truck tyres in Puchov since 1998. The two parties agreed not to

disclose the details of the latest agreement, including the financial

volume.