Woosung Tire up for sale SEOUL, South Korea—Woosung Tire Corp. is for sale, and Group Michelin and Bridgestone Corp. head the list of possible suitors for the insolvent South Korean tire maker, according to Korean banking and industry sources.
The court-appointed receiver for Woosung hopes to secure a foreign investor for the firm by the end of February. Woosung has suffered considerable losses the past two years and was placed into receivership in November 1998.
The court will consider both joint venture and outright purchase offers.
Woosung is ranked 41st among the world's tire makers, based on 1997 sales of $150 million. It suffered $59 million in losses, however, and is carrying $385 million in debts.
Korea First Bank, the lead bank in a consortium of 20 creditors, claims to have discussed Woosung with four foreign tire companies, including Michelin and Bridgestone.—By Hordon Kim, Crain News Service
Conti plans Romanian unit
HANOVER, Germany—Continental A.G. has chosen a site in western Romania for its newest car tire plant, a $59 million project expected to come on stream by year-end 2000.
The new plant, located in Timisoara within 35 miles of the Hungarian and Yugoslavian borders, will focus primarily on production of car tires for central and eastern European markets.
Continental emphasized the low-cost nature of the site for this purpose, saying labor costs in Romania are at least one-third lower than in western Europe—and perhaps only one-tenth, depending on the calculation method.
Continental expects to break ground during the first quarter of 1999.