US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Company on Monday lost its court bid to force India's Apollo Tyres Ltd. to complete their proposed $2.3 billion merger. According to a report by Reuters, the Delaware Supreme Court dismissed Cooper's appeal against an earlier ruling which favors the Indian tire manufacturer. The court previously ruled that Apollo was meeting its obligations to reach new contract terms with unions at Cooper plants in Ohio and Texas.
Apollo wants to pay less than the $35 per share agreed in June, citing demands by unions at Cooper plants and disruptions at Cooper's venture in China. Talks between the two companies were stalled after Apollo insisted on paying just $9 for every Cooper share, Reuters said in an earlier report.
Apollo would become the world's seventh-biggest tire maker should the deal push through. Cooper Tire & Rubber and Apollo Tyres went on trial on November 5 over the stalled merger deal, the report said.
Under the terms of the deal, Apollo can walk away from the merger on December 31, Reuters wrote.
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