PPG Industries Inc. announced Friday a deal to sell its remaining fiberglass operations to Nippon Electric Glass Ltd. 5214, -1.31% and expects proceeds of $545 million.
The paints, coatings and materials company said the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2017. The operations being sold include manufacturing facilities in Chester, South Carolina, and Lexington and Shelby, North Carolina, and administrative operations in Shelby, which employ more than 1,000 people with sales of $350 million last year.
PPG had sold its European fiberglass operations in 2016, and divested from two Asian fiberglass joint ventures. PPG is locked in a battle to buy rival Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel NV which has rejected PPG’s $27 billion takeover bid.
PPG’s stock, which is still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 13% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 7.9%.
By Tomi Kilgore
Source: MarketWatch
3M and Dow have announced they are cutting thousands of roles from their global workforces in response to economic pressures. Dow has said it will cut 2,000 jobs across its global workforce (around 5%) in a bid to save US$1bn in 2023. The company says it will also cut costs by shutting down “select assets”, though it did not note where it would halt operations.
Sweden’s state mining firm has discovered what could be Europe’s largest rare earths deposit, and says it could help the bloc reduce its reliance on imports of minerals needed to manufacture clean technologies and meet climate targets.
Henkel and Avantium have been partners since 2019, when Henkel joined the PEFerence consortium. This consortium of partners, coordinated by Avantium, aims to establish an innovative supply chain for FDCA and PEF (polyethylene furanoate).