Ferro Corp. on Monday said it reached a definitive agreement to sell its Specialty Plastics business to Wind Point Partners, a private equity investment firm.
Terms of the deal, scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2006, were not disclosed. The division posted 2005 revenue of about $275 million.
Ferro's Specialty Plastics business develops and produces customized thermoplastic compounds and alloys, plastic colorants, gelcoats, and thermoset pastes that are marketed to manufacturers in a broad range of end markets. It has about 750 employees and operates 11 production facilities in the United States, Europe and Latin America, with the largest facilities located in Evansville, Indiana; Stryker, Ohio; Almazora, Spain; and Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
"We continue to evaluate our business for divestment opportunities with the goals of reducing debt and leveraging technology and production synergies across a narrower set of related, core businesses that have strong growth characteristics," said Ferro CEO James F. Kirsch.
The company recently announced a restructuring of its European operations of its Inorganic Specialties businesses. The restructuring is expected to generate annualized savings of $40 million to $50 million by the end of 2009.