Georgia Gulf moves on after suitor
Georgia Gulf Corp. is a sound business with strong prospects, and it isn’t impressed with unsolicited offers to buy the company, especially with those that may have been viewed as low-ball proposals.
That, in sum, is Georgia Gulf’s story, and the Atlanta chemical maker is sticking to it now that uninvited suitor Westlake Chemical has gone away.
Plastics maker Westlake withdrew the $35 a share bid it made for Georgia Gulf in February after being told it was still too low. Houston-based Westlake initially proposed $30 a share.
Georgia Gulf president and CEO Paul Carrico, citing the reaction of the company’s directors back then, had termed the sweetened offer “far from compelling ...”
In responding to Westlake’s withdrawal of the offer last week, Carrico looked ahead.
He said Georgia Gulf stands to benefit from the recovery of the U.S. housing market, continued growth in global demand and other factors, adding, “...we are well positioned to create significant value for our stockholders.”
Carrico also noted that the company’s first quarter financial results were its best for the period in six years, “which demonstrates our ability to generate stockholder value even in a period of volatile macroeconomic conditions and a slow housing market.”
Georgia Gulf makes two chemical lines, chlorovinyls and aromatics, and vinyl-based building and home improvement products including window and door profiles, moldings, siding, pipe and pipe fittings and deck products.
The company has 3,600 employees in the U.S. and Canada, although only 60 work at its Atlanta headquarters. The company was founded in 1985 through the acquisition of a majority of the chemical assets of Georgia-Pacific Corp. for $250 million.
Georgia Gulf had 2011 revenue of $3.2 billion.
Westlake had said a deal with Georgia Gulf would have allowed it to become a leading PVC resins producer and vinyl-based building products supplier, and help it grow globally.
