PIROT, Serbia (Jan. 29, 2008) — Michelin will pay an estimated $47 million for the remaining share of Tigar Tyres, its joint venture company with Tigar A.D.
Michelin, which already has a majority 64-percent stake in the joint venture, will have full ownership by 2010, said a Tigar spokesperson.
Tigar announced in a Dec. 28 shareholders meeting that it plans to exit from all projects where it is a minority shareholder in order to strengthen its subsidiaries. The company also will sell off a portion of infrastructure-enabled land at the Tigar II location and spend $22 million in 2008 on growing its cooperation.
Tigar Tyres is part of Tigar A.D., a holding company which is partly owned by the Serbian government.
Tigar Tyres makes passenger, light truck, motorcycle and industrial tires with 1,125 employees at its 82-year-old factory in Pirot. Daily capacity is listed as 11,700 units.
Tigar´s relationship with Michelin dates back to 1974, when it signed a cooperative agreement with the former B.F. Goodrich Co. That agreement was carried over to Michelin when Michelin bought BFG successor Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. in 1989. Michelin bought controlling interest in Tigar in 2002.