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GPX International Tire Corporation Announces Court Approval of Sales

MALDEN, Mass.--GPX International Tire Corporation (GPX) announced today that it has received bankruptcy court approval to complete the sale of the Company in three discrete transactions that are expected to close prior to the end of the year, subject to closing conditions. All three buyers were the original stalking horse bidders. U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Joan N. Feeney approved the following three transactions:

  • U.S. Assets – GPX’s U.S. operations will be sold to Alliance Tire Corporation. Alliance submitted the winning bid in an auction conducted after Titan International, Inc. submitted an alternative offer. Alliance will acquire the Company’s U.S. operations, including its assets, customer relationships, warehouse footprint, world-wide rights to the Galaxy and Primex brands, the Company’s medium radial truck distribution business and the Company’s South African entity, GPX Tyre South Africa (Pty.). Alliance is a global leader specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of highly engineered agricultural, forestry, construction and earthmover tires worldwide. Alliance manufactures in Israel and has recently completed a state of the art factory in India. Alliance will continue to market Galaxy, Primex, other GPX brands, and medium radial truck tires to GPX’s customer base. GPX customers will benefit from the complementary strengths of the Alliance and GPX product lines, particularly in the agricultural and construction tire segments. Alliance will continue to source products from GPX’s valued network of manufacturers in China and elsewhere. The combination of the Alliance and GPX manufacturing resources provides Alliance with a large, diverse, and highly flexible global sourcing platform that is capable of providing competitive products in all segments of the off-the-road tire industry in North America and throughout the world.
  • Canadian Transaction – GPX’s Canadian subsidiary, Dynamic Tire Corp., will be sold to a management buyout team led by Robert Sherkin and Peter Koszo. Under the terms of the transaction, the company’s Canadian subsidiary will become a separate entity engaged in the sale and distribution in Canada of Galaxy and Primex brand off-the-road tires, the sale and distribution of medium radial truck and passenger car tires, and private label sourcing. Dynamic will continue to operate this business, purchase tires from longstanding suppliers and provide customers with a high level of customer service as it has done in the past.
  • Solid Tire Transaction – The Company’s Solid Tire business, together with its Gorham, ME; Red Lion, PA; and Hebei, China manufacturing facilities will be sold to MITL Acquisition Company, which is capitalized by an investor group working in cooperation with management. The Solid Tire business will maintain manufacturing operations in the Maine, Pennsylvania and Hebei, China facilities in order to market the MaineTire, MITL, ITL and Brawler brands to its customers.

“The court’s approval of these transactions is an excellent outcome for the Company and its customers, vendors and employees,” said Craig Steinke, GPX’s chief executive officer. “We are excited to work with the three acquirers to close the transactions prior to the end of the year. In doing so, we will enable the continuation of quality and innovation inherent in GPX’s brands while providing employment for over 95 percent of GPX’s workforce.”

GPX has operated as a debtor in possession since its Chapter 11 filing on October 26th. The Company anticipates that all three sales will close prior to December 31, 2009.

GPX was represented in U.S. Bankruptcy Court by attorneys Harry Murphy of Hanify & King, P.C. as bankruptcy counsel and Peggy Farrell of Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP as corporate counsel. TM Capital Corp. served as investment banker to GPX in connection with these transactions and Argus Management Corporation served as GPX’s financial advisor.

About GPX International Tire Corporation

GPX International Tire Corporation is one of the largest independent global providers of specialty "off-the-road" tires for the agricultural, construction, materials handling and transportation industries. GPX is a worldwide company, headquartered in Malden, Massachusetts, with operations in North America, China, Canada, and Germany.