On Oct. 10, 2012, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange closed at $18.69 a share. One day later, the stock closed at $19.78.
That's an increase of nearly 6%. And it's significant.
The reason for the increase? A short news item out of India that Apollo Tyres Ltd. was going to buy controlling interest in the Findlay, Ohio-based tire manufacturer for between $600 million and $800 million. The item quotes unnamed sources "with direct knowledge" of the deal.
Neither company is commenting about the news item, which appeared in "The Economic Times." However, both are public companies, and financial analysts are speculating about 1) whether they think it will happen, and 2) what will happen to the companies if it does.
One reason KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. said it would be surprised if Cooper sold a majority interest to Apollo was because "Apollo's current capital structure isn't great."
Northcoast Research Holdings LLC says a full deal with Cooper, which is larger than Apollo, would require more capital.
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. posted net income of nearly $52 million on net sales of $1 billion for its second quarter ended June 30, 2012. That compares to income of $11.5 million on sales of $918.7 million for the same period last year.
The company will release its third-quarter financial results on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012. Cooper management will discuss the results on a conference call beginning at 11 a.m. EST that same day. Interested individuals may access a webcast of the conference call at the company's investor relations website on www.coopertire.com. A replay of the conference call will be available through Nov. 6.
