Shanghai-listed Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Ltd. (TMT) signed an agreement with ZF Friedrichshafen AG to acquire its rubber and plastics business unit. The rubber and plastics business unit will be carved out and transferred into a new company.

TMT and ZF will ensure that all legal and contractual requirements are met and safeguard the transition of the current employees' terms and conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2014 and is subject to regulatory approvals for example in China and Europe as well as to approval by TMT’s shareholders. Against the backdrop of strong consolidation in the rubber and plastics industry, ZF has concluded that the Business Unit Rubber & Plastics, currently part of ZF’s Car Chassis Technology Division, will be better positioned as a standalone company, backed by a long-term strategic investor. The Business Unit Rubber & Plastics will generate sales of about EUR 700 million in 2013 with approximately 3,300 employees in nine locations across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.

Source: rubberworld.com