Abstract
ASHLAND HAS agreed to buy specialty chemical maker International Specialty Products (ISP) for $3.2 billion in cash. The acquisition will expand Ashland’s portfolio of products for the personal care and pharmaceutical markets, which it has targeted for their high margins, high growth rates, and relative immunity to economic downturns. ISP had $1.6 billion in sales for the 12 months ending on March 31 and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $360 million. Ashland’s sales during the same period were $6.0 billion. ISP has 2,700 employees and 17 manufacturing facilities around the world. It’s owned by the family of the late chairman, Samuel J. Heyman, who died in November 2009 (C&EN, March 29, 2010, page 14). In recent years, Ashland has moved away from legacy businesses such as petroleum refining and chemical distribution and toward specialty chemicals. In 2008, Ashland bought Hercules, another specialty chemical maker, for $3.3 billion. That deal brought with ...
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