BRUSSELS — Bridgestone Corp. is acquiring Reiff Reifen & Autotechnik G.m.b.H., a German tire retail, wholesale and retreading company, in a deal with the insolvency administrators for Fintyre Group.
Based in Reutlingen, Germany, Reiff has 42 retail stores under the brand labels Reiff, Netto and ABS and a tire retreading plant in southern Germany.
The company employs more than 500 and has "excellent reputation as a professional and trustworthy partner," Bridgestone said in a statement to European Rubber Journal, a sister publication of Tire Business.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Bridgestone said the acquisition fits well with its strategy to become a "mobility solutions leader" as it increases its focus on "premium tires, trusted mobility solutions and customer centric retail networks."
"This deal will effectively support our existing trade partnership network and create new synergies," Daniel Giroud, chief sales officer, Bridgestone Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMIA), which will oversee Reiff Reifen.
Fintyre is a United Kingdom-based holding owned by Bain Capital Private Equity that controls a number of tire distribution companies in France, Germany and Italy comprising 20 wholesale distribution centers and 120 retail outlets. It reported over $1 billion in sales in fiscal 2018, including nearly $370 million attributed to Reiff.
FinTyre acquired Reiff in August 2017.
According to insolvency administrators Jaffé Lawyers, the Fintyre companies in Germany filed for bankruptcy in February and the 16 entities are now for sale.
Bridgestone has stepped up its retail activities in recent years with acquisitions and joint ventures across France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Its retail network and partnerships now include First Stop, Groupe Ayme, pitstop.de, PPG Pneuhage Partners Group, Speedy and Exhaust, Tyres & Batteries Ltd.
Bridgestone expects to complete the acquisition by June 1, subject to the pending approval of the relevant authorities.