US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Co today said strike by its workers in China protesting against the proposed acquisition of the company by India’s Apollo Tyres will not affect the Rs 14,500 crore deal.

“The pending merger between Apollo Tyres and Cooper complies with all applicable laws and regulations. The transaction is on track and expected to close by the end of this year. This issue (strike) has no impact on the pending merger,” Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Anne Roman, said in an e-mailed response.

Reports from China had said more than 5,000 Chinese workers at Cooper Chengshan, a 65:35 joint venture between Cooper and China’s Chengshan Group, have gone on strike against the American parent company’s takeover by Apollo Tyres.

Confirming the development, Roman said, “Cooper is currently experiencing a temporary work stoppage at our plant in Rongcheng, China. All other Copper facilities in China, and throughout the rest of the world, continue to operate as normal.”

Cooper is continuing to work towards getting the plant operating again as soon as possible, Roman added.

“The pending merger will benefit all of Cooper, including those at the Rongcheng plant, as it will bring together two companies with highly complementary brands, geographic presence, and technological expertise,” Roman said.

When contacted, Apollo Tyres said it cannot comment since the deal has not been completed yet.

On June 12 this year, Apollo Tyres had announced that it would acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Company in an all-cash transaction valued approximately at Rs 14,500 crore.

The combined company will be the seventh-largest tyre company in the world and will have a strong presence in high growth end-markets across four continents.

The deal, however, wasn’t taken positively by market and Apollo Tyre shares had tanked by 26 per cent the next day on BSE forcing the company management to clarify that the move would not load its Indian operations with excessive debt.

Apollo had said that out of a total loan of $2.5 billion to fund the acquisition, the Indian arm had taken a loan of only $450 million. The major portion of debt of $2.1 billion would be leveraged on cash flows of Cooper and Vredestein, the company’s Netherlands-based arm.

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