In a follow-up “clarification” letter to both sides, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Sam Glasscock III held open the possibility that Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. could get its $35 per share deal with Apollo Tyre.

Provided, of course, that the Findlay, Ohio, tiremaker can produce the complete and proper financial data – including data from its troubled joint venture plant in China – in the next few days.

Cooper must prove it had satisfied all the conditions of the acquisition deal. the judge said in his Nov. 9 letter. “Cooper has failed to demonstrate a present entitlement to specific performance,” the judge wrote.

Further, Glasscock wrote, is the question whether Cooper can actually comply with requirements that it produce complete and proper third quarter results to Apollo’s lenders.

“Cooper is unlikely to be able to provide those financials due to the physical seizure of a Cooper subsidiary in China by a minority partner,” Glasscock wrote.
If “timely reporting of the third-quarter financials is completed,” Cooper’s request for “specific performance will remain viable.”

Another point of contention, Glasscock wrote, is whether Cooper can comply with a request that it provide third-quarter company financial results by Thursday, to satisfy Apollo’s lenders.

Cooper’s China venture, called Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Co., operates the company’s biggest manufacturing site, according to its union.

Workers there stopped producing Cooper tires July 13 to protest the Apollo deal.

“Cooper is unlikely to be able to provide those financials due to the physical seizure of a Cooper subsidiary in China by a minority partner,” Glasscock wrote.

He added that if “timely reporting of the third-quarter financials is completed,” Cooper’s request for “specific performance will remain viable.”