Appeal of Cooper-Apollo merger dispute ruling set for Dec 19

REUTERS - Delaware's Supreme Court will hear on December 19 Cooper Tire and Rubber Co's appeal of a lower court decision that found Apollo Tyre Ltd was not in breach of an agreement to buy the U.S. company for $2.3 billion.

Cooper is seeking a declaration that Apollo is in breach of the merger agreement, which was announced in June. Cooper, of Findlay, Ohio, is also seeking a court order directing Apollo to close the deal.

Apollo has said it cannot close the deal because it has been unable to reach a labor deal with workers at two Cooper plants. It has also said Cooper breached the merger agreement by failing to provide updated financial information about its Chinese joint venture.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Gary Hill)