Goodyear Tire Ends Global Alliance With Sumitomo

(RTTNews) - Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (GT) on Thursday dissolved its global alliance with Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

The alliance, which was formed in 1999, primarily consisted of four joint venture operating companies, one each in North America and Europe, and two in Japan.

Under terms of the agreement, Goodyear retains exclusive rights to sell Dunlop-brand tires in the replacement market and to non-Japanese auto manufacturers in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Goodyear also retains exclusive rights to sell Dunlop-brand tires in replacement and original equipment markets in European countries where the former joint venture exclusively served the market. Also, Goodyear regains exclusive rights to serve Japanese markets with Goodyear-brand tires.

The completion of the transaction will resolve the pending arbitration filed in January 2014.

The transaction does not impact the company's existing financial targets or capital allocation plan. The company will include the impact of the transaction in its full-year outlook beginning February 2016.