Arbitrator Blocks Part of Cooper Tire Sale to Apollo

An arbitrator has blocked Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. from including two U.S. factories in a planned $2.5 billion sale of the company to India's Apollo Tyres Ltd.

The arbiter agreed with the United Steelworkers union, which represents workers at the plants, that the deal requires their consent.

A sale, which has been described as the largest U.S. acquisition by an Indian company, would create the world's seventh-largest tire company. Cooper is the fourth-biggest tiremaker in the U.S.

Apollo and the Findlay, Ohio-based tiremaker announced the planned sale in June. But the two have been battling challenges since then. The deal prompted an immediate lawsuit from an investor trust, which contends that the sale price of $35 per share is too low.

The proposed deal also triggered a lockout last month by Chinese workers at a factory in Chandong that is jointly owned by Cooper Tire and Chengshan Group. The employees said they would resume production of Chengshan brand tires but not those carrying the Cooper brand.