MUMBAI, India—Mahansaria Tyres Private Ltd. plans to buy a majority stake in the Dutch off-highway tire specialist European Agriculture Tyre Distributor.
MTPL said in a statement that the acquisition is linked to the Mumbai-based company's construction of the 127-acre manufacturing tire facility, which is due for completion by mid-2020, according to its statement supplied Nov. 15.
Owned by the Mahansaria family—father, Ashok Mahansaria and son, Yogesh Mahansaria—MTPL is investing nearly $100 million to set up a greenfield off-highway tire manufacturing plant in Gujarat India.
The plant is being built in Panoli the south west Gujarat, about 200 miles north of Mumbai, a spokesman said in a statement. The company, he added, plans announce its branding strategy early in the New Year and will target sales in the Americas, as well as in Europe.
The purchase of a controlling stake in EATD is "the first step" in building its distribution network in Europe, according to the Indian company.
EATD, it said, would distribute MTPL tires in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
The Dutch business will also continue distributing Tianli tires, manufactured by Tianjin, China-based manufacturer of agriculture, forestry and earthmover tires, Tianli.
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
The Mahansaria family has more than 30 years of experience in the tire industry: building two major off-highway tire businesses: Alliance Tire Group and prior to that Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT).
EATD was set up six years ago and the new combination of Tianli and MTPL is expected to open new opportunities in a highly competitive market, according to the firm.