Conti Ponders Acquisitions to Boost Aftermarket Tire Business

Continental AG tells Reuters it is looking for possible takeover targets to bolster its aftermarket tire business.

Nikolai Setzer, who heads the company’s tire division, says his unit has the necessary financial strength for acquisitions. But he concedes there are few likely candidates. Conti’s tire business contributed two-thirds of the company’s revenue in the first half of 2016.

Conti’s most recent tire-related acquisition came in 2014 when it bought Veyance Technologies Inc.—a U.S. maker of rubber tracks, hoses, conveyors and drive belts—for €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion).