PRINCETON, NJ, Feb. 16, 2006 -- Covalence Specialty Materials Corp., a business with $1.7 billion in revenues, formerly the Plastics and Adhesives operation of Tyco International, today joined the ranks of the nation's independent, private companies.
The occasion was marked by completion of the purchase of Covalence (pronounced co-vay-lence) in a $975 million transaction, by Apollo Management L.P., one of the nation's leading private equity firms. Terry A. Sutter, former president of the predecessor business, Tyco Plastics & Adhesives and former president of the Specialty Chemical Division of Cytec Industries, has been named president and CEO. Marvin O. Schlanger, former president and CEO of Arco Chemical and former Chairman and CEO of Resolution Performance Products, has been named chairman.
Samuel Thomas also is director of Covalence Corrosion Protection Group, which is comprised of corrosion protection technologies serving the oil, gas, water and district heating industries. These include Raychem heat shrinkable products, Polyken® pipeline tape coatings, Powercrete® liquid epoxies and AnodeFlex™ linear anodes.
"This is an exciting time for all of us at Covalence," said Terry A. Sutter, "As a stand-alone business with strong financial backing and an aggressive entrepreneurial spirit, we have been presented with a unique opportunity to further expand Covalence's rich product mix and to broaden the markets we serve. Our objective is to be innovative, but also to build a solid, financially secure business of broad stature and sustainable growth."
Sutter pointed out that the company's new name was specifically chosen to underscore Covalence's mandate. "Covalence means a shared bond and it is representative of the relations we have with our customers, suppliers, employees and investors," he commented. "Specialty Materials signifies the broad product line and array of technologies we utilize every day."
The company has defined its key drivers as follows:
• Top-Line Growth -- driving volume growth through innovative new products, expanding our customer base and growing with our existing customers.
• Operational Intensity -- promoting best-in-class operating practices to drive productivity and environmental health and safety.
• Customer Service -- improving quality, delivery and ease of doing business.
• Organizational Effectiveness -- putting in place the right structure, people, processes, and rewards to execute our strategies and deliver sustainable results.
"Our move to a separate, strongly positioned private company, with a broad constituency that includes the people we work with and the markets we serve each day as well as our investors and the financial community, is a tremendous opportunity that we expect to make the most of," said Sutter.
Apollo Management L.P., founded in 1990, is among the most active and successful private investment firms in the United States in terms of both number of investment transactions completed and aggregate dollars invested. Since its inception, Apollo has managed the investment of an aggregate of approximately $13 billion in equity capital in a wide variety of industries, both domestically and internationally, and is currently managing Apollo Investment Fund VI, L.P., its most recent fund with committed capital of $10.1 billion.
Covalence Specialty Materials Corp., with a workforce of 7,125 people in 38 manufacturing facilities, primarily in the U.S. but also in Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Korea and India, is a major producer of a wide range of products, including polyethylene-based films, industrial tapes, medical specialties, packaging, heat-shrinkable coatings and specialty laminates, among others. It is the number one producer domestically of trash bags, duct tape and niche laminated and coated products. Among its leading brands are Ruffies® and Rhino-X® trash bags; Film-Gard® plastic sheeting; Nashua® tapes, Raychem® heat-shrinkable coatings; Polyken® pipeline coatings; Thermo-Ply® and Energy-Brace® wall sheathing; as well as R-Wrap® and Barricade® housewraps.
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