FINDLAY, Ohio — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. paid $62 million earlier this year to buy out the minority partners in its Corporación de Occidente S.A. de C.V. tire production joint venture in Mexico, Cooper's top executive told the financial community recently.
Cooper disclosed last November its intention to buy the 41.7% share held by Trabajadores Democraticos de Occidente S.C. de R.L. de C.V. (Tradoc), Cooper's minority partner in the venture in El Salto, Mexico, since 2008.
The deal, which closed in late January, made Cooper the sole owner of Corp. de Occidente. The companies did not disclose financial terms at that time.
At that time, Cooper President and CEO Brad Hughes said the deal was "part of our strategic plan to optimize Cooper's global manufacturing footprint with cost-competitive production of quality tires in key geographies."
Mr. Hughes mentioned the purchase price during Cooper's recent first-quarter conference call with the financial community.
In the company's 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cooper disclosed that it spent $54.5 million for the remaining outstanding voting common stock and payments totaling $16 million subsequent to the acquisition to members of the prior joint venture workforce in connection with services rendered.
Cooper also said it its first-quarter results include $11 million of restructuring costs related to the acquisition.
The plant — originally a Continental A.G. factory that Conti closed in 2001 — is rated at 19,000 tires a day with roughly 1,100 employees. A group of Mexican investors bought the facility from the German company and restarted production in mid-2005 using the Pneustone brand.
The plant currently is shuttered due to COVID-19 protocols in Mexico. The Mexican government determined in mid-April that Cooper's plant there is a "non-essential" business, forcing Cooper to close the plant temporarily beginning April 28.
Cooper had reopened the factory on April 13 after it had been idled for four weeks due to coronavirus and its impacts.