Akron, Ohio-based The Goodyear Tire&Rubber Co. announced that that it intends to acquire Cooper Tire&Rubber Co. in a transaction with an enterprise value of $2.5 billion (including assumed debt). We expect the deal to close in the second half of 2021 subject to regulatory approval. While we estimate that Goodyear's debt leverage will initially be about 5.0x pro forma for the transaction before incorporating the benefits from its expected synergies, we believe the acquisition will bolster the company's long-term competitiveness in the replacement tire industry. Therefore, we are placing all of our ratings on Goodyear on CreditWatch with positive implications. We expect to resolve the CreditWatch upon the close of the transaction in the second half
