AKRON, US: A Schulman Inc has entered into an agreement to purchase a selected majority of the assets of the Specialty Plastics business segment from Ferro Corporation for $91 million in cash. The purchase agreement includes four facilities located in the US as well as operations in Spain. Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of A Schulman’s current fiscal year ending 31 August 2014. Excluded from the transaction are Ferro’s plastics business and operations in Edison, New Jersey, and Carabobo, Venezuela.
The Specialty Plastics assets included in the pending transaction achieved sales of $154 million in 2013, with approximately two-thirds of these revenues generated in the US. As a result, this acquisition is expected to deliver important geographic diversification benefits to A Schulman.
“Specialty Plastics is a performance-driven, technically demanding business, and this business segment is what initially attracted us to seek to acquire Ferro back in 2013. Strategically combining the two businesses provides the existing customers of the Specialty Plastics segment with an expanded product portfolio, technical solutions and global resources with the full support of the A. Schulman team. We are delighted to have reached an agreement to purchase these assets, and we plan to leverage their capabilities, competitive advantages and footprint to become an integral part of our growth engine,” said Joseph M Gingo, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, A Schulman.
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