Georgia Gulf Rejects Sweetened Westlake Bid

Westlake Chemical has increased its offer for rival Georgia Gulf to $35.00 per share, up from the $30.00 per share it disclosed on Jan. 13, raising its total commitment to $1.2 billion. But Georgia Gulf’s board has unanimously rejected the new unsolicited bid, calling it “far from compelling.” In a letter to Georgia Gulf’s board last week, Westlake CEO Albert Chao raised the possibility of including Westlake shares as part of the $35.00 bid so Georgia Gulf shareholders could take part in the “value creation” that would result from the deal. He also promised to refrain from nominating directors to Georgia Gulf’s board at the company’s shareholder meeting later this year in order to engender “friendly negotiations.”