The US firm BFGoodrich announced on 3 February the sale of its subsidiary Tremco, the manufacturer of sealants and coatings, to another US company, RPM, Inc., for a cash payment of US$ 230 million.
R…
The US firm BFGoodrich announced on 3 February the sale of its subsidiary Tremco, the manufacturer of sealants and coatings, to another US company, RPM, Inc., for a cash payment of US$ 230 million. RPM anticipates re-paying approximately half of the purchase price paid for Tremco through the divestiture of a number of Tremco and existing RPM product lines. These divestitures and any resulting restructuring are expected to be completed by 31 December 1997. RPM is a manufacturer of industrial coatings and sealants for waterproofing and general maintenance, corrosion control and other specialty chemical applications. The fiscal year ended 31 May 1996 was RPM“s 49th consecutive record year of sales, earnings and earnings per share, with sales of US$ 1.1 billion, net earnings of US$ 68.9 million and earnings per share of US$ 0.90. According to RPM, Tremco“s product lines are highly synergistic with a number of existing RPM subsidiaries, including Mameco, in the sealants area; and Republic Powdered Metals, RPM“s founding company, in the roofing product line areas. Tremco had sales in 1995 of about US$ 330 million. RPM will, however, reshape the new subsidiary, cutting about 60 administrative jobs from Tremco“s North American workforce, among them 40 in the Cleveland area, said RPM Chairman and CEO Thomas Sullivan. Tremco employs about 1,700 worldwide. He added that RPM will also cut an unknown number of its own administrative jobs in Medina County, although the number will be far fewer than the Tremco cuts. RPM employs about 5,300 worldwide. Mr. Jeffrey L. Korach will immediately become President of Tremco. Mr. Korach has, for the last 12 years, been President of The Euclid Chemical Company, a joint venture of RPM, Inc. and Holderbank. James L. Chessin, President of Mameco International, Inc., an RPM wholly-owned subsidiary, will join the Tremco management team as Vice President and General Manager of the Sealants Group. Richard E. Klar will become Chief Financial Officer of Tremco and remain a Vice President of RPM. Mr. Klar has been on the RPM, Inc. management team for the last 17 years, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer of Mameco International. Tremco is expected to slightly dilute RPM“s earnings for the quarter ending 28 February 1997, and be neutral for the RPM fiscal year ending 31 May 1997. RPM anticipates that Tremco will be a strong contributor to sales and earnings growth in the RPM 1998 fiscal year, which will begin on 1 June 1997.