W. R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, Md.; www.grace.com) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the Unipol Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business of The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) for a cash purchase price of $500 million. The transaction is expected to close by year-end, pending regulatory approvals. Dow’s Unipol licensing and catalysts systems business offers Unipol Polypropylene Process Technology. Grace is a supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and has a broad portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies.
Dow had previously announced its intent to divest this business on March 14, 2013, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to proactive portfolio management and plan to divest nearly $1.5 billion in assets by mid to late 2014.