Solutia and Southwall have signed an agreement providing for Solutia to acquire Southwall for USD 13.60 per share of Southwall common stock in cash. The acquisition will enable Solutia to offer Southwall’s patented XIR transparent film encapsulated between layers of Solutia’s Saflex polyvinyl butyral interlayers.
Solutia Inc.’s acquisition of Southwall Technologies will enable it to offer Southwall’s patented XIR transparent film encapsulated between layers of Solutia’s Saflex polyvinyl butyral interlayers. “This ‘interlayer stack’ forms a protective barrier against the harmful effects of the sun in laminated automotive glass, with some play in the architectural market,” says Melissa Zona, director of corporate communications for Solutia. “This positions us for a unique expansion of our product offerings, providing yet another performance-enhancing option to our customers.”
“In addition, Southwall brings added [its] manufacturing capacity and capabilities that will support the fast growing demand for high-tech films for the electronics market, an essential component in many e-readers, touch screens and smartphones,” she says. “This growth is driven by the industry shift from glass to films, which provide cost-effective solutions that make devices lighter and more flexible, with less breakage.”
The companies have signed an agreement providing for Solutia to acquire Southwall for USD 13.60 per share of Southwall common stock in cash. The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, has an aggregate equity purchase price of approximately USD 113 million. The acquisition will be funded by Solutia from existing cash on hand.
The acquisition is not completed yet and, therefore, no transitions have been outlined or taken place in terms of Southwall employees and facilities, Zona says. “We expect to close the transaction by the first quarter of 2012,” she says.
“Solutia and Southwall will now work very closely together to make certain this transition goes smoothly,” says Jeffry N. Quinn, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Solutia. “While we pursue final approvals for the transaction and after the deal closes, we will continue to provide the superior product performance and technical service our customers have come to expect. Relative to employees/facilities/jobs, the acquisition adds state-of-the-art manufacturing capacity and proprietary capabilities to Solutia’s global manufacturing operations. We look forward to welcoming the strength of Southwall and its employees into Solutia once the acquisition is complete.”