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[July 2000]
Ferro buys Solutia’s Polymer Modifiers business
Ferro’s largest ever ecquisition broadens Polymer Additive product offering, stablishes a European manufacturing and market presence.
Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE) has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy the polymer modifiers business and related manufacturing facilities of Solutia Inc. (NYSE:SOI), St. Louis, Missouri. Solutia’s polymer modifier business is a key global producer of specialty plasticizers (chemical additives) and other modifiers used in the production of a variety of plastics. Terms of the transaction, expected to close later this summer, were not disclosed.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ferro would acquire the business, as well as Solutia’s Delaware River plant in Bridgeport, New Jersey. Ferro would also acquire manufacturing units in Newport, Wales and in Antwerp Belgium.
Hector R. Ortino, Ferro’s chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "With annual sales of approximately $140 million, this acquisition adds a significant level of annual sales to our Polymer Additives business and gives Ferro a new set of technologies to serve existing customers and to develop new markets. We continue to build on our strengths in Polymer Additives as we did with the successful acquisition and integration of Synthetic Products in 1995. This transaction supports our primary strategies to drive growth through complementary acquisitions and to expand our product offering into other geographic markets."
Solutia manufactures a variety of polymer modifiers, including its widely recognized brand of Santicizer specialty plasticizers, which are used in various niche plastics markets. The specialty nature and quality of these products has allowed the company to offer a differentiated, value-added product line and build a reputation for excellence with its customers. Ferro’s Polymer Additives business unit holds a key U.S. position in supplying high-quality additives, including lubricants and stabilizers, for compounding various plastic resins including polyolefins, styrenics, polyvinyl chloride and elastomers.
Solutia’s polymer modifier business will help broaden and strengthen Ferro’s product offering in existing markets and enable the Company to serve new markets such as polyurethanes and polysulfides in specialty applications such as adhesives, sealants and caulks. Additionally, the acquisition offers Ferro opportunities to sell products internationally through a European manufacturing and market presence.
Kent H. Lee, Ferro’s senior vice president of specialty chemicals, said, "This acquisition brings together two franchise businesses with solid market positions and brand recognition. The combination should allow us to provide a broader range of products to our customers and become a stronger supplier to our markets. In addition, this acquisition gives us a platform to expand geographically in Europe, which is one of the main strategic objectives for our mostly U.S. polymer additives business."
The transaction is subject to review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and appropriate agencies in the European Union.
ENDS