Ferro joins rebranded Vibrantz Technologies

Coatings producer Ferro Corp. is entering a new era — one in which it's no longer a standalone public company, and with a new name.

The Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based company on April 21 said in a news release that its acquisition by mineral and chemicals company Prince International Corp. has been completed. Prince paid $22 per share in the $2.1 billion, all-cash deal, which was announced on May 11, 2021. As a result of the deal's completion, Ferro's common stock will cease trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

But that's not the only change ahead.

In conjunction with the deal's close, Prince — a portfolio company of private equity firm American Securities LLC — will combine with Ashtabula, Ohio-based Chromaflo Technologies Corp., a provider of colorant technology products. Chromaflo also is part of American Securities.

Prince, in its own news release on the dea, said the combined companies will be rebranded as Vibrantz Technologies Inc. and will be headquartered in Houston. It described the new Vibrantz as "a global, diversified technology leader in advanced materials, color solutions and performance coatings" with annual sales of about $2 billion, about 5,400 employees and 63 manufacturing sites across six continents.

Ferro brings 3,600 employees and 2021 sales of more than $1.1 billion to the combined enterprise. Chromaflo, the Ashtabula company, has about 715 employees.

D. Michael Wilson, president and CEO of the new Vibrantz Technologies, said in a statement, "By combining Prince, Ferro and Chromaflo — all leaders in their own right — we have leading positions in highly attractive markets. We will be a company with strong material science and technology expertise to drive faster innovation, and our greater scale broadens our global footprint, enhancing our customer reach and giving us greater operational resilience. We have pulled leadership talent from all three companies to form a highly qualified management team."

The Prince release indicated that Vibrantz Technologies will operate in three business segments: advanced materials, comprising specialty mineral and chemical additives for end-uses such as alkaline and lithium-ion batteries, electronic components, building and construction, agriculture and animal nutrition, and foundries; color solutions, including dry powder pigments, pigment dispersions and liquid colorants for the paints and coatings, thermoset plastics and thermoplastics, and construction markets; and performance coatings, featuring glass coatings and porcelain enamel products for coatings, glass and other manufacturers.