News - 2021

Bridgestone Announces its Progress of Rebuilding Earning Power Based on Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023) Restructuring Synthetic Rubber Business in China

2021/06/15

Tokyo (June 15, 2021) ― Bridgestone Corporation announced that it has proceeded in expense and cost structure reformation for all regions and all business areas, on Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023) ^*1announced on Feb 16, 2021. It aims to evolve to a "strong" Bridgestone, enhancing business portfolio management capable of adapting to business environment changes, rebuilding earning power of its core business through expense and cost structure reformation and enforcing the premium business strategy as a basis, and enhancing strategic growth investments to growth business and exploratory business.

As one of its initiatives, Bridgestone Corporation has decided that it will sell all shares of stock of Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd., (BSRC) its subsidiary in China manufacturing synthetic rubber for passenger car tires, to LCY Chemical Corporation, a company which operates materials and chemicals business on global basis. Its sale value is not disclosed.

＜The outline of BSRC and its business restructuring＞

Products	Company	Country and Area	Scale of business	Outline of business restructuring	No of manufacturing footprints
Synthetic Rubber for passenger car tires	Bridgestone (Huizhou) Synthetic Rubber Co., Ltd.	Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China	Sales amount: 399 million CNY (Approx. 6.2 billion JPY, 2020 actual ^*2) Employees: 133 (As of Dec, 2020)	Stock sales All shares of stock scheduled to be sold to LCY before Dec 14, 2021	1

＜The location of manufacturing footprints＞

The Bridgestone Group had enhanced vertical integration which enables the Group to conduct internal manufacturing of raw materials, tire R&D and production, sales and services thoroughly, aiming for global optimization of its tire business. On the other hand, under the recent business environment which is volatile and uncertain, the Group has enhanced its business portfolio restructuring so that it can take actions swiftly to environment changes without losing global optimization of its tire business. The Group has studied restructuring under the condition that the business and its teammates can also make sustainable growth.

Regarding BSRC, Bridgestone Corporation made the decision taking into consideration that through the sale to LCY, BSRC can make new synergy with LCY, having excellent expertise for materials and chemicals business, and can provide social value and customer value sustainably.

Teammates in BSRC will start working in new environment under LCY. Bridgestone Corporation believes that they can make further growth by maximizing synergy with LCY. It also will take appropriate actions to its customers and suppliers to minimize their burden through the sales.

The Bridgestone Group will evolve to a sustainable solutions company which enhances business portfolio management capable of adapting to changes and provides social value and customer value continuously. With regard to business portfolio restructuring and manufacturing footprint restructuring, it will announce to stakeholders at the appropriate timing.

The impact of this sales on forecast of Bridgestone's consolidated financial results for 2021 will be minor.

*1 Click here for information of the Bridgestone Group's Mid Term Business Plan (2021-2023).

*2 Translated at a rate of CNY 1 to JPY 15.5

About Bridgestone Corporation:
Headquartered in Tokyo, Bridgestone Corporation is a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions. With a business presence in more than 150 countries worldwide, Bridgestone offers a diverse portfolio of original equipment and replacement tires, tire-centric solutions, mobility solutions, and other rubber-associated and diversified products that deliver social and customer value. Guided by its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve, Bridgestone is dedicated to shaping a sustainable future of mobility and improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.