GE, Fairfield, CT, has agreed to sell GE Advanced Materials (Silicones & Quartz) to Apollo Management, L.P., a private investment firm, in a deal valued at $3.8 billion in cash and securities.
GE Advanced Materials is a $2.5 billion supplier of silicone-based products, silanes, sealants, urethane additives and adhesives; and high-purity fused quartz and ceramics materials. It is headquartered in Wilton, CT, and employs 5,000 people in 38 locations worldwide.
Apollo Management also recently purchased Rexnord Corporation, a manufacturer of precision motion technology products, for $1.825 billion.
Upon completion of the transaction, GE will receive a 10% ownership stake in the new company and hold $400 million of notes.
“Today’s announcement is another big step in repositioning the Industrial segment for faster growth and higher returns,” said Lloyd Trotter, GE vice chairman and president and CEO of GE Industrial. “We negotiated an attractive price for the deal, and we will use the proceeds to fund growth and restructuring in our industrial businesses.”
GE Advanced Materials has two major joint ventures GE Toshiba Silicones (GETOS), formed in 1971, and GE Bayer Silicones (GEBS), formed in 1998. In two related transactions, GE announced that it has reached definitive agreements with Toshiba and Bayer to acquire 100% of their respective joint venture equity stakes. GETOS and GEBS will become wholly owned by GE and will be included in the acquisition by Apollo.
Wayne Hewett, who currently leads the Advanced Materials business for GE, will serve as president and CEO of the new business, which will be renamed upon completion of the transaction.
From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, medical imaging, television programming and plastics, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.
Apollo Management, founded in 1990, has invested more than $16 billion in companies representing a wide variety of industries, both in the U.S. and internationally. Apollo is currently investing its sixth private equity fund, Apollo Investment Fund VI, L.P., which along with related co-investment entities, represents approximately $12 billion of new capital.
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