A. Schulman To Get A Piece Of Ferro

Unable to take over all of Ferro a year ago, the plastics compounder A. Schulman has struck a deal to buy one of Ferro’s most coveted pieces, its specialty plastics business, for $91 million. The business makes engineering plastics compounds, colorants, and liquid coatings. It had $154 million in sales in 2013 and operates four plants in the Midwest and one in Spain. Separately, Ferro has put its polymer additives business, which had sales last year of $293 million, up for sale. Ferro says the sales will help it focus on its performance materials business. Last year, Schulman failed in its attempt to acquire Ferro in an $855 million hostile takeover.