The Delaware Supreme Court has granted Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.’s request for an expedited hearing of its appeal to a partial ruling rendered by Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock III in the case Cooper filed against Apollo Tyres Ltd.
Cooper said in a statement that it “is pleased that the Delaware Supreme Court has granted our motion for an expedited hearing of our appeal of the partial ruling issued November 8/opinion letter issued November 9 by the Delaware Chancery Court.”
The tiremaker added the hearing is set for Dec. 19 in Dover, Del., and that it “continues to seek the expeditious closing of the merger with Apollo Tyres.”
On Nov. 12, Glasscock issued a partial bench ruling that Apollo had not breached the terms of the June 12 merger agreement by requesting a lower per-share price than the $35 per share originally agreed upon.
When Cooper filed the appeal one day later, Apollo issued a statement that said, “With its statement today, Cooper is again attempting to avoid rather than accept its responsibility for the situation at Cooper Chengshan Tire, as it has done throughout this process. We do not agree with Cooper that its lack of control over its largest subsidiary was caused by the proposed merger. We remain committed to finding a sensible way forward for all affected stakeholders, including the USW, and look forward to seeing Cooper’s updated financials when available.”
Cooper is seeking an expedited ruling from the state supreme court, prior to the Dec. 31 expiration of its acquisition agreement with Apollo. Cooper had also sought an expedited hearing on its Oct. 4 suit against Apollo in Delaware Chancery Court, which was heard by Glasscock over Nov. 5-7.
Glasscock ruled on Nov. 8 that Apollo did not breach terms of its $2.5 billion deal to buy Cooper, and had not been suffering from “buyer’s remorse” as the reason why it had not year closed its deal to buy Cooper for $35 per share.
In a Nov. 14 brief opposing Cooper’s motion, Apollo said it had no intention of terminating the agreement Dec. 31. “Apollo is still seeking to close the merger transaction, and continues to try to reach accord with the USW and to resolve other impediments to closing,” the tiremaker stated. “That goal will not be advanced by Cooper’s pointless attempt to spend the remainder of the year on expedited appellate litigation, rather than overcoming business obstacles to the transaction.”
