Albemarle acquires Rockwood Holdings in US$6.2B deal
by The Associated Press
Albemarle Corp., expects about $100 million in annual cost savings by 2016 through its acquisition of Rockwood
BATON ROUGE, La.—Specialty chemicals company Albemarle is buying counterpart Rockwood Holdings Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $6.2 billion.
The deal values Rockwood at $85.53 per share.
There has been some consolidation in the sector in recent years and heavyweights like Dow Chemical focus more on higher-margin specialty chemicals. To compete and lower costs, competitors are growing through significant acquisitions.
Cabot Corp. bought the Dutch company Norit NV for $1.1 billion to strengthen its specialty chemicals portfolio.
Eastman Chemical spent more than $3 billion on Solutia, a St. Louis company that makes materials and specialty chemicals used in the automotive and architectural industries.
Albemarle Corp., based in Baton Rouge, said July 15 that it expects about $100 million in annual cost savings by 2016 through its acquisition of Rockwood. It anticipates maintaining its current quarterly dividend and lowering debt in the near-term.
The boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is targeted to close in the first quarter of next year. It still needs shareholder approval.
The combined company will operate under the Albemarle name. Albemarle President and CEO Luke Kissam will serve in those same roles for the combined business. The board will include eight Albemarle directors and three Rockwood directors. Jim Nokes will remain Albemarle’s non-executive chairman.
