PolyOne Corp.’s acquisition of Spartech Corp. for almost $400 million is featured in this week’s Material Insights video. PolyOne North America’s largest compounder is paying $393 million for Spartech, a leading plastic sheet maker that also operates a sizable compounding unit. The deal moves PolyOne into downstream products and includes PolyOne taking on $142 million in Spartech debt. Major global job cuts from Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. also are featured in this week’s video. Dow is cutting 2.400 worldwide, while DuPont is eliminating 1,500 positions. The impact of the cuts on the firms’ plastics units are unclear. Poor third-quarter financial results primarily in Europe and Asia - were cited as reasons for the cuts. DuPont officials also cited weakness in titanium dioxide, a material used as a whitener in plastics and other products. The video wraps up with news that compounder A. Schulman Inc. posted higher profit in its just-completed 2012 fiscal year. Schulman’s profit for the year rose 27 percent to $52 million, even as sales fell almost four percent to just over $2.1 billion. Schulman also spent almost $100 million on two acquisitions during the fiscal year.
An explosion at La. olefins plant leaves 2 dead, 76 injured
June 17, 2013 1:17 pm ET
