Japanese company Toyo Tire & Rubber announced yesterday that it has agreed to acquire all of the shares of Malaysia-based tyre manufacturer Silverstone from Silverstone Corp for M$462 million (around $150 million) in cash. Silverstone Corp is a subsidiary of the Lion Group, a Malaysian conglomerate.
Nomura was the sole adviser to Toyo Tire, which won what insiders say was an extremely competitive auction process on an expedited timetable, beating out a number of other strategic bidders. Silverstone was advised by ING Corp Advisory.
Specialists say the deal highlights the growing trend of Japan-based corporations looking at international M&A to satisfy their increasing appetite to diversify abroad and to leverage the strength of the Japanese yen.
In March, J.P. Morgan advised private equity fund CVC Partners on its sale of Paperbox Holdings to Japan’s Oji Paper for an undisclosed amount. And, in August, Nomura advised Mitsui on its $289 million agreement with Hyflux to set up a joint venture for the acquisition of water treatment assets and the Hyflux water trust. While CVC Partners’ sale was an example of private equity firms successfully exiting their Asian investments while market sentiment is strong, for the Japanese acquirers, both deals were likely driven by both the strong yen and the relative lack of growth in the domestic Japanese market. And this Silverstone deal falls under that same category.
Indeed, Osaka-based Toyo presented the acquisition as part of a long-term global expansion plan. The company is the fourth-largest manufacturer and distributor of automotive tyres and industrial rubber products in Japan. It is currently expanding its Toyo Tire North America manufacturing facility and has begun construction of a China tyre manufacturing plant at Toyo Tires Zhangjiagang. Toyo said in a statement that the Silverstone acquisition positions it to make a “full-scale entry into the fast-growing Southeast Asia market”.
It added that it plans to start production of Toyo and Nitto brand tyres at this new subsidiary as soon as practicable, and says it is intent on “improving the quality” of the Silverstone brand tyre, with the goal of expanding sales throughout Asia. Silverstone is the second largest tyre manufacturer in Malaysia with an annual production capacity of 3 million. It has a diversified product portfolio, including tyres for passenger cars, trucks, light trucks, industrial and commercial vehicles.
The transaction is expected to close by late January 2011, pending customary regulatory approvals and shareholder approval at certain Lion Group entities. Other key investments of the Lion Group include Parkson Holdings, which operates department stores in Malaysia, China and Vietnam, and Lion Steel, which is one of the largest integrated steel producers in Southeast Asia.
