QUINCY, Ill. — Titan International Inc. has received a second "put option" pertaining to its Voltyre-Prom joint venture in Russia calling on Titan to buy out the 21.3-percent share held by an affiliate of One Equity Partners.
Titan, One Equity and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) set up the Voltyre-Prom venture in 2013 as co-owned joint venture, with Titan holding 43-percent stake, RDIF 35.7 percent and One Equity 21.3 percent.
The put option by One Equity affiliate OEP 11 Cooperatief U.A. obligates Titan to buy OEP's share in either cash or Titan common stock, in amounts set by the shareholders' agreement. One Equity Partners is a New York-based middle market private equity firm that focuses on the industrial, health care and technology sectors in North America and Europe.
Depending on the final settlement date, the cash amount is estimated to be in the range of $45 million to $46.2 million and the share amount range is estimated to be approximately 7.3 million to 7.5 million shares, Titan said.
Titan earlier agreed to settle RDIF's put option with a combination of cash and shares of Titan common stock, valued together at $50 million.
Titan and RDIF signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) that calls for Titan to pay RDIF $25 million in cash and issue RDIF $25 million in shares of restricted Titan common stock, Titan said, in exchange for a 10.7-percent interest in Voltyre-Prom.
The Russian tire maker — previously part of the JSC Cordiant group — operates a 2-million-sq.-ft.-plus factory in Volgograd, Russia, that produces agricultural and industrial tires. Capacity there is rated at 2 million tires per year, according to information released in 2013, when Titan, RDIF and OEP bought majority ownership.