MOSCOW (April 6, 2009)—The Dutch-Russian tire venture Amtel-Vredestein N.V. has reached a “binding sale” agreement with an as-yet undisclosed “industry player” for its Vredestein Banden B.V. unit in the Netherlands.
The proposed sale would require the purchaser to acquire certain indebtedness owed by Vredestein Banden to Amtel-Vredestein and certain intellectual property rights related to Vredestein Banden used and/or registered in the name of Amtel-Vredestein, the holding company said.
At the same time, Amtel-Vredestein said it has received court approval to suspend payments on all debts excluding those related to Vredestein Banden. The agreement prevents creditors making claims on Amtel-Vredestein's assets for a period of two months. The company has appointed an official receiver.
Vredestein Banden and its subsidiaries have separate finance arrangements from Amtel-Vredestein, so the financial situation at the parent company does not affect Vredestein Banden in a financial sense, the Dutch firm said.
Neither Amtel-Vredestein nor Vredestein Banden is at liberty to disclose the identity of the bidder, but Vredestein said it “believes that considerable synergies can be won in cooperation with this party.”
Vredestein also said it is confident about its future because it is focused on the replacement market and thus is not tied directly to the global automotive sales slump.