TOKYO—Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. has terminated its technology tie-ups with South Korea's Kumho Tire Co. Inc., which have been in place since early 2014.
The termination of the collaborative efforts took effect July 6.
Yokohama cited the recent change in Kumho Tire's shareholding structure as the reason for the decision. China's Qingdao Doublestar Group acquired a 45 percent ownership stake in Kumho Tire in July in a $600 million-plus deal with Kumho shareholder Korea Development Bank.
YRC and Kumho Tire signed a Master Technological Alliance Agreement on Feb. 15, 2014, and entered into a cooperative research and development and license and technology exchange agreements on May 31 that same year.
The goal of working together was to develop the tire-related future technologies, including environmentally friendly tire technologies and new concept tires, YRC said, without disclosing what—if any—developments resulted from the cooperative deals.