Continental AG has received regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of Matador Group's tire, conveyor belt and rubber machinery business.
Approval was given by the European Commission. Continental says the buy-out will help it expand its reach in Eastern Europe. (Matador is a Slovakian company.)
Since 1998, Continental and Matador have been joint venture partners in a truck tire manufacturing operation in Puchov, Slovakia, with Continental holding majority share.
Matador had 450 million euros in sales last year.
The Continental Corporation is a leading automotive supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers. In 2006 the corporation realized sales of EUR14.9 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of around 87,000.
