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Business

Chemical Deals Stay Level

by Melody M. Bomgardner
November 26, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 48

The chemical industry pursued acquisitions in the third quarter at a rate similar to that of 2011 and the first half of 2012. Deals around the world worth $50 million or more totaled 29 in the quarter, compared with 26 in the third quarter of 2011, according to a report by the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. PwC’s third-quarter deal count was down from 38 in the second quarter of 2012, however. An increase in large acquisitions drove total deal value for the quarter to $20.2 billion, which was significantly higher than the $12.9 billion in deals struck in the second quarter. Four deals worth at least $1 billion were announced in the third quarter: Linde’s purchase of Lincare Holdings for $3.7 billion, the Carlyle Group’s buy of DuPont’s performance coatings unit for $4.9 billion, Georgia Gulf’s agreement to buy PPG Industries’ commodity chemicals unit for $2.1 billion, and BASF’s acquisition of Becker Underwood for $1.0 billion. Activity picked up in the U.S. during the quarter but was flat in Europe and slow in China. “It is likely that chemicals merger and acquisition activity will remain muted as potential acquirers wait for improvements in the global economy,” the report states.

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