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Ashland
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our combined employees, customers,
shareholders and all those with whom
we interact,” said James J. O’Brien,
Ashland chairman and chief executive
officer. “Together, we now begin work
ing to build an exciting new future,
confident that our people, technologies,
products and services will drive our
growth for years to come.”
Transformation overview
Ashland now comprises a core of
three specialty chemical businesses
that will drive the company both stra
tegically and financially, generating
approximately 75 percent of total
EBITDA on a pro forma basis. These
businesses — paper and water technol
ogies, specialty resins, and specialty
additives and functional ingredients
— hold strong market positions and
promising global growth potential.
Ashland’s logistics efficiencies and
well-developed marketing capabilities
in consumer markets complement its
core businesses and enhance its abil
ity to deliver valued products and
services.
“This transaction better positions
Ashland to deliver more stable and
predictable earnings, generate stron
ger cash flows and gain access to high
er growth markets worldwide, most
especially those in emerging econo
mies,” said O’Brien.
Ashland anticipates approximately
$120 million in annual run-rate sav
ings by eliminating redundancies and
capturing operational efficiencies by
the end of fiscal year 2010.
“Our integration team, guided by
Ted Harris and supported by key rep
resentatives of both companies, has
already provided a solid foundation
for our continued development as one
company,” said O’Brien. “Their ongo
ing management of this activity is
focused on successfully integrating the
best processes from both companies,
achieving our synergy and cost-saving
targets and pursuing the new opportu
nities for growth.”
The expanded international pres
ence of Ashland as a result of the trans
action will increase revenue derived
outside North America to roughly 35
percent of the total $10.7 billion of
pro forma revenue for the 12 months
ended Sept. 30, 2008.
New commercial structure
Ashland’s new structure, incorpo
rating the former Hercules businesses
effective today, is composed of five
commercial emits:
Ashland Hercules Water Technolo
gies, a $2 billion specialty paper and
water chemicals business formed from
the related operations of Hercules and
Ashland;
Ashland Performance Materials,
the specialty resins business serving
construction, infrastructure, energy
and transportation segments;
Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingre
dients, a fast-growing business of spe
cialty additives and functional ingredi
ents derived from renewable resources,
and serving personal care, pharmaceu
ticals, food, construction, transporta
tion and other industries;
Ashland Consumer Markets, the
Valvoline® lubricants, automotive
appearance and service business; and
Ashland Distribution, North Amer
ica’s leading distributor of chemicals,
plastics, composite materials and envi
ronmental services.
Transaction Details
The cash portion of the transaction
was funded through a combination of
cash on hand and debt financing from
Bank of America and Scotia Capital.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as
financial advisor, and Squire, Sanders
& Dempsey LLP acted as legal counsel,
to Ashland. Credit Suisse Securities
(USA) LLC acted as financial advisor,
and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
acted as legal counsel, to Hercules.
About Ashland
The corporate headquarters for
Ashland will remain in Covington,
Ky. The Hercules administrative facil
ity in Wilmington, Del., now becomes
the operations center for the Ashland
Aqualon Functional Ingredients and
the Ashland Hercules Water Technolo
gies commercial emits.
To capitalize on the opportunities
of emerging economies, the company
recently repositioned the operations
center for its Ashland Performance
Materials commercial emit to Baren-
drecht, the Netherlands, where it can
serve growing demands in Eastern
THE ISLANDER, DECEMBER 1, 2008, PAGE 7
NYC subway cars
Continued from Page 1
ly cleaned and inspected before being
loaded on a barge for the 5-day trip to
coastal Georgia.
CRD staff aboard the Research
Vessel Marguerite rendezvoused with
the barge at the reef site to ensure
the subway cars were deployed in
an area on the northwest side of the
reef site where there was no natural
live bottom or existing man-made
material.
The sight of subway cars being
lowered into the calm blue waters
provided a unique backdrop as the
NBC reporter interviewed Michael
Zacchea and Spud Woodward, CRD
assistant director for marine fisher-
Europe and as a central point for
operations in the Americas and Asia
Pacific. Ashland Consumer Markets
(Valvoline) will maintain its opera
tions base in Lexington, Ky., and Ash
land Distribution will continue to be
based in Dublin, Ohio. A series of tech
nical and research and development
centers will also be maintained around
the world.
To learn more about Ashland, visit
www.ashland.com. □
ies as part of an upcoming story on
oceans.
Anglers and divers can find the
subway cars by going to 30o58.865N/
80o58.601W and proceeding on a
heading of 333 degrees. The cars are
scattered in a line over a distance of
approximately one half mile.
Next spring and summer, this area
should be a good trolling alley for
king mackerel, barracuda, and other
pelagic game fish.
Man-made materials like the sub
way cars provide a hard substrate,
which attracts a diverse assemblage
of encrusting organisms like corals
and sponges. These organisms com
bine with the submerged material
creating habitat that attracts bait
and game fish such as black sea bass,
amberjack, and grouper.
Each year, thousands of anglers
and divers visit the 22 artificial reefs
found offshore Georgia. Although
spring and summer are the busiest
times for artificial reef visitation,
these areas are populated by sea life
throughout the year.
For more information on CRD’s
Artificial Reef Program contact Spud
Woodward at (912)264-7218 or email:
spud.woodward@dnr.state.ga.us. □
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