08/29/2008 Continental has Acquired 89.66 Percent of Oltas SPA

Hanover, August 29, 2008. After the approval of the Turkish antitrust authorities last week Continental AG has acquired 89.66 percent of the shares in Oltas SPA headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey.

Oltas is Continental's exclusive tire distributor for the passenger car and commercial vehicle tire brands Continental, Uniroyal and Barum in Turkey. "We are glad about this quick approval process. Now we will improve our market position for commercial vehicle and passenger car tires in Turkey and in Eastern Europe overall significantly step by step," said Dr. Alan Hippe, Executive Board member responsible for the Passenger Car Tire division who was elected as deputy CEO for Continental AG recently.

Here you can download the press release as a word-file (54 KB).

Here you can download the photo from the top right.

Turkey is considered to be one of the European growth markets for the next few years and is also one of the biggest markets for commercial vehicle tires in Europe. Oltas SPA achieved sales of some 39 million euros in 2007 with a workforce of 65. Today, it has a franchise dealer network with more than 200 shops that is to be expanded even further.

With targeted annual sales of more than €26.4 billion in 2008, the Continental Corporation is one of the top automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of tires, brake systems, powertrain and chassis systems and components, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers, the Corporation contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The company currently employs approximately 150,000 staff at almost 200 locations in 36 countries.

Continental’s tire divisions are an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2010™ in South Africa. For more information, check out www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.contifanworld.com and www.conti-online.com.