ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — Sealed Air Corp. said Wednesday it will acquire industrial cleaning and sanitization company Diversey Holdings in a cash and stock transaction valued at $4.3 billion.
"This transaction represents a strategic growth opportunity that leverages Sealed Air's core competencies and positions our company to further capitalize on the megatrends that drive both businesses," said William V. Hickey, president and chief executive officer, Sealed Air. "With Diversey, we will expand our footprint beyond specialty packaging solutions by gaining entry into a $40 billion-plus chemical cleaning and hygiene industry that has attractive fundamentals and is already in our value chain."
Sturtevant, Wis.-based Diversey provides cleaning, sanitization and hygiene solutions to industrial and retail customers in the food and beverage, foodservice, health care, and lodging sectors, as well as to building service contractors worldwide. It had 2010 sales of about $3.1 billion.
"We are excited about the opportunities we have to grow with Sealed Air through increased scale and expanded reach," said Edward F. Lonergan, Diversey president and CEO.
Diversey is a privately-owned company, controlled by members of the Johnson family and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Upon closing of the transaction, expected sometime in 2011, Diversey shareholders are expected to own approximately 15% of Sealed Air common stock.
