With it’s hoped for $2.5 billion takeover one toe-tag away from being declared totally dead, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has now moved to gain a damage settlement from its former suitor.
In a filing on Dec. 20 in Delaware Chancery Court, Cooper said it intends to seek damages, and suggested a conference with both the court and Apollo in January, according to a report by the Findlay Courier. Dec. 31 was the stated deadline for any deal, so any planned “conference” beyond that date clearly signals that Cooper sees no way to force Apollo to complete its acquisition deal.
"Cooper intends to pursue this case as an action for damages, and had intended to approach the Court after the first of the year regarding scheduling," Cooper said in its filing, and Judge Sam Glasscock III reportedly as for an update on the status of the deal no later than Jan. 10.
Cooper wasn’t the only one wielding lawyers on Dec. 20; Apollo filed a motion seeking to bar Cooper from accessing a $112.5 million letter of credit that supports the acquisition deal’s so-called ‘breakup fee.’
Cooper reportedly claimed that it had no intention of doing so, but there was no explanation of what damages Cooper could or might seek instead. If the deal doesn’t close on time or Cooper can show that Apollo is in breach of the agreement – improbable given the Chancery Court’s previous ruling, which the state supreme court refused to reconsider – Apollo won’t be bound to pay the breakup fee.
