MILAN, Italy (Nov. 23, 2009)—Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.'s plans for Russia may include buying an existing factory in addition to building a plant, according to Pirelli Tyre CEO Francesco Gori.
During a recent conference call with European stock analysts, Gori said, “we are in touch to buy an existing plant that is quite new. We don't know the timing—it's quite a complex transaction—but we believe that within the first six months of next year we should be able to finalize the deal.”
This apparently is in addition to Pirelli's previously announced deal to build a joint venture passenger and truck tire plant in Russia's Samara region, a project valued at about $430 million with Russian Technologies State Corp.
That deal, disclosed in late 2008, projected that plant would be in production by year-end 2010. That timetable has now been pushed back, Gori said during the conference call, with construction not expected to begin before the second half of next year.
Gori did not elaborate on the acquisition possibility, but it's known that Russian tire maker Amtel N.V. is selling its assets in the wake of bankruptcy proceedings. Amtel owns a modern plant in Voronezh, for which the mixing room still has to be built.