(Apr. 17) – Pirelli strengthens its market leadership in Brazil. The Italian group announced it has signed an agreement with the family Faria da Silva to acquire 60% stake in Campneus, a major tire retail chains in Brazil, worth about 54 million reais, equivalent approximately 22.5 million, subject to adjustment based on the balance sheet at the date of closing. In line with the 2012-2014 industrial plan presented in London last November, with this operation Pirelli intends to strengthen its leadership in the Brazilian market both in retail and wholesale distribution, focusing on the higher growth Premium segment and increasing the number of Pirelli owned (Pirelli Pneuac) points of sale from the present 48 to 102. The 54 Campneus points of sale included in the agreement are already part of Pirelli’s distribution network in Brazil, which counts over 600 points of sale in total. The Campneus stores, which will continue under the same brand even after the closing of the operation, are located in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. They sell the complete range of Pirelli tyres for cars, light-trucks, trucks, buses and agricultural machinery, as well as for earth moving and off road equipment. The agreement is subject to approval by CADE, the Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica brasiliano, and finalization is expected at the end of the first half of 2012.
The first Campneus point of sale was opened in the Brazilian city of Campinas on September 19th, 1975 and the following year extended to three resellers in the sates of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. At present, the company employs around 600 people in seven Brazilian states. (Peg)
