Synthomer said today that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Omnova Solutions for an enterprise value of £654 million ($824 million), including $473 million in shares and $351 million of debt. The transaction has been approved unanimously by the Omnova and Synthomer boards.
Synthomer is offering Omnova $10.15/share, a premium of 58% to Omnova’s closing price on Tuesday, and it is targeting annualized pre-tax cost savings of $29.6 million by the end of the third year after the deal is completed. Completion is subject to closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, and approval from Synthomer’s and Omnova’s shareholders. The transaction is not contingent on obtaining financing and it is expected to close in late 2019 or early 2020.
Omnova reported sales of $769.8 million last year. It operates two business segments, specialty solutions and performance materials, with 63% of sales last year derived from the specialty solutions segment and 37% from the performance materials unit.
Synthomer is a top-five worldwide supplier of emulsion and specialty polymers, producing formulations for industries ranging from construction through paints and coatings and healthcare. The group has approximately 2,900 employees and had revenue of £1.6 billion last year.
By Natasha Alperowicz
Source: Chemical Week
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