Fairlawn, Ohio-based A. Schulman Inc. has set June 14 as the date for a special sharholders' meeting to vote on a merger agreement with global plastics, chemicals and refining company LyondellBasell Industries.
Schulman, a leading compounder and concentrates maker in both North America and Europe, said in a news release that it has established a record date of May 7 for the special meeting. The previously-announced deal with LyondellBasell Industries N.V. and LYB Americas Holdco Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of LyondellBasell, sets the value of the merger at $2.25 billion.
Directors of Schulman recommend that stockholders vote in favor of the merger. The company said in the release that it expects the deal to close in the second half of this year, subject to shareholder approval, remaining regulatory approvals, and customary closing conditions.
If the merger is completed, Schulman stockholders will receive $42 in cash and one "contingent value right" per share. Each contingent value right will provide a shareholder "with an opportunity to receive certain net proceeds, if any are recovered, from claims arising from" Schulman's Citadel and Lucent acquisitions.
When the merger deal was announced in February, the companies said the combined Schulman and LyondellBasell businesses had revenues of $4.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $446 million over the past 12 months.
Schulman has about 5,200 employees and 54 manufacturing facilities globally. It reported sales of about $2.5 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2017.