Michelin to buy full ownership of Serbian JV for €34m

By Simona Stankovska, ERJ staff

Pirot, Serbia -- Michelin will buy out the remaining share of its joint venture company with Tigar Corp for an estimated €34 million.

Michelin, which already has a majority 64 percent stake in Tigar Tyres, will have full ownership of the joint venture by 2010, said a spokesperson for Tigar, in a 28 Jan phone call with ERJ.

Tigar announced in a 28 Dec shareholders meeting that it would exit from all projects where it is a minority shareholder in order to strengthen its subsidiaries and “develop a new lines of business which will guarantee a leading position.”

Selling the minority stake in its joint venture with Michelin is therefore part of Tigar's long-term agenda. The company will also sell off a portion of infrastructure-enabled land at the Tigar II location and spend €15 million in 2008 on growing its cooperation.

Tigar Tyres is part of Tigar AD, a holding company which is partly owned by the Serbian government.