When Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. bought out Toyo Tire & Rubber Co.'s 30% stake in their joint venture Nippon Giant Tire Co. Ltd. subsidiary on May 31, 2012, Goodyear said the reason was simple: It wanted to keep up with growing demand for OTR tires, particularly in Australia.
Following the buyout, Goodyear owns 100% of the OTR tire plant, which is located in Tatsuno City, Japan. (Goodyear also purchased Mitsubishi Corp.'s 5% stake.)
Why did Toyo sell its interest? The company, in accordance with its 2011 Mid-Term Business Plan, decided to "further concentrate" its business resources toward growth and strategic markets. The OTR tire market was not one of them.
"The dissolution of the joint venture on Toyo's business is not expected to have a material impact on Toyo's consolidated earnings for the current period," said the company.
Goodyear (the majority shareholder), Toyo and Mitsubishi formed the joint venture in April 1985.
