Good things come to those who wait, and after nine months, Qemetica S.A. finally closed the deal on PPG's silicas products business.
After a strategic review of its silicas products business earlier this year, PPG Industries agreed to sell the unit to Polish chemical company Qemetica. PPG also will be handing over manufacturing sites in Lake Charles, La., and Delfzijl, Netherlands, and renting out two more in Barberton, Ohio, and Monroeville, Pa.
The financial terms of the deal, closed in November, bring the total price tag to about $310 million.
PPG's silicas products sector employs about 400 people and accounts for 1-2 percent of the company's total sales. The transaction is Qemetica's second largest in terms of revenue.
"This transaction, meeting all the mentioned criteria, means that after finalizing and fully integrating the new business, we will be closer to achieving our strategic goals: to develop sources of growth other than soda ash, to achieve geographic and product diversification and to significantly expand our global footprint with revenues from new markets," Qemetica CEO Kamil Majczak said in a statement.
The transaction will allow PPG to put heavier emphasis on other, more lucrative business sectors.
"This transaction will allow us to further focus our resources on our technology-differentiated coatings and specialty products businesses to accelerate our organic growth and drive increased shareholder value creation," PPG Chairman and CEO Tim Knavish added.