Ashland Inc. ASH declared that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase (“ASR”) agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. Ashland’s board already approved a $1 billion share repurchase authorization in April this year which is slated to expire in Dec 2017.
Per the ASR agreement, Ashland – with a preliminary delivery of around 3.9 million shares – has agreed to buy back a total of $500 million of its common stock from Goldman Sachs. The ASR agreement is set to expire by May 2016. However, it may be terminated earlier, fully or partly, depending on specific circumstances. The agreement may require Goldman Sachs to deliver extra shares to Ashland, or Ashland to deliver shares or make a payment in cash to Goldman Sachs.
Ashland is progressing well with its growth strategies. The company’s unit, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, recently completed the purchase of the patented Zeta Fraction technology from AkzoNobel. This acquisition further strengthens Ashland’s portfolio in the personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and agriculture markets.
Ashland has successfully integrated expert technology, applications development, formulations and consumer science into a single platform, and organized these to produce solutions for large-scale adoption and implementation. Hence, Ashland remains focused on working with innovative manufacturers of consumer care products as well as pharmaceutical, nutrition, and agricultural markets at the initial stages of product development. As part of its goal, the company also delivers bioavailability solutions that offer improved market opportunities to customers.
Ashland offers specialty chemicals in more than 100 countries. After the sale of its Water Technologies unit last year, Ashland has three commercial units now – Specialty Ingredients, Performance Materials and Valvoline.
Ashland currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Better-ranked companies in the specialty chemicals industry include American Vanguard Corp. AVD, Chemtura Corporation CHMT and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF, all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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