Sumitomo completes deal for Dunlop brand

SHIREBROOK, England — Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. (SRI) has completed the acquisition of the trademark rights to the Dunlop brand in 86 countries where it previously licensed the rights from Sports Direct International P.L.C.

Sumitomo is paying $137.5 million to acquire the Dunlop trademark rights in various countries and territories, as well as SDI's Dunlop sporting goods and licensing business.

Sumitomo set up a joint venture company, Dunlop International Co., in Kobe, Japan, to oversee the sporting goods business. SRI is the two-thirds majority owner,

SRI is now the owner and licensor of Dunlop trademark rights globally, except in Europe, North America, India, Australia and a few other, unnamed countries. Goodyear controls, with some exceptions, the rights to the Dunlop brand for tires in North America and Europe as part of the dissolution in 2015 of the SRI-Goodyear global alliance.

In the sports and industrial products businesses, the acquisition enables SRI to produce and sell Dunlop-branded products globally. SRI already controls the brand rights in these areas in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Among the products affected are Dunlop-brand tennis, squash, badminton, golf, racket and table tennis balls and racquets and clothing.

As part of the transaction, SRI will grant SDI a royalty-free license to continue to use the Dunlop brand for premium workwear and safety wear for SDI's own retail purposes, SDI said.

European Rubber Journal is a London-based sister publication of Tire Business.