MUMBAI, India — Mahansaria Tyres Private Ltd. (MTPL) has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in the Dutch off-highway tire specialist European Agriculture Tyre Distributor (EATD).
As a result of the acquisition, EATD has relocated its operations to Wallenhorst, Germany, from Strijen, Netherlands, MTPL said.
The company will distribute MTPL's Ascenso brand of tires in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
The business also will continue distributing Tianli tires, manufactured by Tianjin, China-based manufacturer of agriculture, forestry and earthmover tires Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co. Ltd. (TUTRIC).
Through this investment, the companies said they intend to develop EATD into "a leading off-highway tire distributor in Europe."
"We have known Wolfgang Luettschwager, founder of EATD, for over 20 years and have highest regards for his deep knowledge and experience in the European off-highway tires market," MTPL founder Yogesh Mahansaria said.
EATD was set up six years ago, and the new combination of Tianli and MTPL is expected to open "new opportunities in a highly competitive market," he said.
MTPL announced the acquisition bid in November last year, when it also unveiled plans to build a 127-acre tire manufacturing facility, due for completion by year-end. .
Owned by the Mahansaria family — Ashok Mahansaria and his son, Yogesh Mahansaria — the company is building the $115.8-million greenfield off-highway tire manufacturing plant in Panoli in the southwest Gujarat.
The purchase of a controlling stake in EATD is the first step in building its distribution network in Europe, the Indian company said.
The Mahansaria family has more than 30 years of experience in the tire industry: it was involved in helping to build two OTR tire businesses: Alliance Tire Group and prior to that, Balkrishna Industries Ltd (BKT).
Yogesh Mahansaria is the former majority owner and CEO of Alliance Tire Group and previously was an executive with BKT Tyres Ltd. He orchestrated the purchase of Israel's Alliance Tyres in 2007 and then sold majority interest of the expanded enterprises in 2013 to the global investment firm KKR & Co. LP.
Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. acquired ATG in 2016 from KKR, the Mahansarias and other minority shareholders.