New York headquartered Standard Industries Holdings Inc., is all set to takeover specialty chemicals giant W.R Grace & Co. in a deal that has been finalized at USD 7.0 billion including the latter’s pending pharma fine chemistry acquisition. As per W.R. Grace, the deal will be completed by the 4th quarter of 2021. The deal is an all-cash transaction, as confirmed by both the parties.
After completion of the deal, W.R. Grace would no longer be listed on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and will be a private company thereon. It will operate as a standalone company within the portfolio of Standard Industries Holdings.
As per the agreement, Standard Industries Holdings will get hold on all the outstanding shares of Grace common stock for USD 70 per share in cash. The price is approximately 59% over W.R. Grace’s closing stock price of USD 44.05 as on November 6, the last trading day before 40 North, a related investment arm of Standard Industries proposed to acquire Grace on November 9, 2020. The Grace Board of Directors collectively approved the transaction. 40 North, an investment arm of Standard Industries already had a largest share of 14.9% in W.R Grace before the takeover offer was finalized. The company is set to release its 1st quarter results on 6 May however a press conference is out of contention.
Hudson La Force, CEO of W.R Grace said that the deal would enable the company’s shareholders to realize immediate value at a significant cash premium. David Millstone and David Winter, Co-CEOs of Standard Industries Holdings, also stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Grace to the Standard Industries family and look forward to working with its exceptional team to usher in a new era of innovation and growth for Grace, its employees, customers and the communities in which it operates.”
After successful closing of the deal, W.R. Grace will be operating, as a standalone entity within Standard’s industrial portfolio similar to GAF and Siplast, a roofing and building materials manufacturer in the US; BMI group, a roofing and waterproofing material provider from Luxembourg, and Schiedel, a chimney systems manufacturer in Austria. As per various analysts, the deal is expected to close smoothly without any material anti-trust issues or financial contingency by fourth quarter this year.
Grace is a leading global specialty chemical company with two industry-leading business segments-Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies. The company is a leading provider of innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes across 60 countries worldwide.
Standard Industries Holdings Inc. is the parent company of Standard Industries, a private industrial company having operations in over 80 countries. The company’s portfolio spans a broad array of holdings, technologies and investments- both public and private companies and encompasses world-class building materials assets and next-gen solar solutions.
