AKRON — Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. is in "advanced talks" to purchase Goodyear's off-the-road (OTR) tire business unit upwards of $1.5 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
The news organization said that two people familiar with the matter confirmed that the Japanese tire maker "has emerged as the likeliest buyer" for the the business unit. The sources, who asked not to be identified, said other possible buyers have dropped out. The possible transaction could be worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
Goodyear's OTR business, which consists of mining and construction tires, generates roughly $700 million in annual sales of tires produced in plants in Topeka, Kan., and Tatsuno, Japan.
A Goodyear spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the report.
The report said that Yokohama is lining up financing, and that talks are continuing and cautioned that they may not lead to a deal.
Yokohama's shares fell by more than 7% on Wednesday after the Bloomberg story was published, the lowest loss in a day since November 2022.
Yokohama shares rebounded later in the day. They closed at 3,318 Yen ($20.54), down from a high of 3,431 Yen ($21.24) earlier in the day.
Should the acquisition be finalized, it would mark Yokohama's second major acquisition in a little more than a year.
The tire maker completed its $2.3 billion acquisition of Trelleborg Wheel Systems from Sweden's Trelleborg A.B. in May 2023. Yokohama created a new company, Yokohama TWS, and the tire maker didn't change TWS' existing organizational structure.
The transaction in effect doubled the size of Yokohama Rubber's off-highway tire business to better than $2 billion annually.
Hiratsuka-based Yokohama employs more than 28,000 globally, operating in more than 120 countries. It generated $7.02 billion in revenue in 2023, according to the company, including $6.23 billion in tire-related sales.
