Wellman Emerges From Bankruptcy

After one year in bankruptcy, plastics maker Wellman Inc. has emerged from that status as a privately held company. Wellman received $35 million in cash from the private equity firms Sola and BlackRock Financial Management in exchange for a 50% stake in the company. Creditors that exchanged Wellman debt for equity will hold the remaining 50%. As part of its reorganization, the company exited the polyester fiber business and focused on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The company closed its Darlington, S.C., fiber plant and sold its Johnsonville, S.C., polyester fiber and recycling operations to the private equity firm J. H. Whitney & Co. (C&EN, Nov. 24, 2008, page 19). Wellman's remaining plant, in Pearl River, Miss., has 960 million lb of annual PET resin capacity.