Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and Fate Sign Letter of Intent

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, a $3.4 billion global tire design, manufacturing and marketing company (NYSE: CTB), and Fate, the leading Argentine tire manufacturer and a global exporter, today announced they have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to work together.

Initially, Fate will become a distributor of Cooper branded passenger, light truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) radial tires in Argentina, complementing Fate’s existing product portfolio. Over time, the two companies may also work together on a variety of potential cooperative ventures including tire production, offtake arrangements, and possible cooperation on research and development activities. Among other products, Fate produces passenger, light truck, and SUV tires as well as truck and bus radial (TBR) tires at its facility in San Fernando, Argentina. This plant is the largest and most modern tire production facility in that nation, producing approximately five million tires per year. Cooper, together with its subsidiaries, has seven tire manufacturing facilities on three continents, and sales and distribution networks around the world.

“Cooper is pleased to align with Fate, a highly respected and quality-focused tire company with extensive reach in Argentina and throughout South America, as we continue to move forward with our strategic plan to grow our business in Latin America,” said Cooper Chief Operating Officer Brad Hughes.

“Fate is enthusiastic about the foreseen cooperation by complementing our already extensive portfolio of car, light-truck and SUV tires with Cooper’s valuable range of products and its highly respected brand as it will have a positive impact on our sales network while further enhancing Fate’s industrial growth strategy,” said Fate Commercial Manager Miguel Canay.

About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (NYSE: CTB) is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of passenger car and light truck tires. Cooper and its subsidiaries also sell medium truck, motorcycle and racing tires. Cooper's headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio, with manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations within its family of companies located in more than one dozen countries around the world. For more information on Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire.

About Fate

Fate is the main producer of tires in Argentina. With the latest technology, it designs, and produces tires for cars, vans, trucks, buses, tractors and road machinery. Fate is a regular supplier to major automotive companies producing in the country and to its own sales network in the country and abroad. It has an industrial plant in San Fernando, province of Buenos Aires, and employs 2,300 people. For more information about the company visit: www.fate.com.ar.

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