On April 12, Qingdao Doublestar officially announced the completion of its long-awaited cross-border acquisition: it acquired a 45% stake in South Korea’s listed tire maker Kumho Tire for 4.927 billion yuan, gaining control of the global tire giant.
The acquisition, which took 8 years to finalize, dates back to 2018 when Doublestar Group became Kumho Tire’s controlling shareholder and promised to inject the asset into its listed subsidiary within 5 years to resolve horizontal competition. However, the plan was repeatedly delayed due to industry shocks such as rising raw material prices and fluctuating market conditions.
For Qingdao Doublestar, which has been in consecutive losses since 2019, this acquisition is a crucial turnaround. Kumho Tire, with 9 production bases and 5 R&D centers worldwide, boasts clients including Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen, and has maintained steady growth in Europe, the US and China.
After the acquisition, Qingdao Doublestar’s total assets will jump from about 9.232 billion yuan to 35.542 billion yuan, and its net profit will turn from a loss to a profit of over 411 million yuan in H1 2025. This landmark deal, the first of its kind in China’s tire industry, marks Doublestar’s leap from a local player to a global tire platform.
