AUBURN HILLS, MICH. (Oct. 5, 2 p.m. ET) — Guardian Industries Corp., the parent company of injection molder SRG Global Inc., has agreed to sell a minority interest to a subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc.
Guardian, based in Auburn Hills, would sell part of its shares to KGCI LLC, a Wichita, Kan.-based unit of Koch.
Koch’s other investments include ownership of Georgia-Pacific Corp. of Atlanta, which makes wood products used extensively in the construction industry.
Guardian’s major business is in glass used in the construction and auto industries. SRG is a subsidiary that specializes in plated plastics for auto trim.
The deal is scheduled to close by the end of this year, Guardian said in an Oct. 4 news release.
Ratings analysts with both Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC placed Guardian on ratings watch for review with negative implications following the announcement.
Moody’s said its review will focus on the potential for capital structure changes, potential strategic changes and Guardian’s liquidity profile. Moody’s currently rates Guardian as Baa 1/P-2, noting its historically low debt-to-capitalization ratio, conservative financial policies, global diversification and strong market placement.
