PPG Industries completes spinoff of commodity chemicals unit [The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Jan. 28--PPG Industries Inc. closed the spinoff and merger of its commodity chemicals business with an Atlanta-based company on Monday.

PPG's commodity chemicals unit, which produces chlorine, caustic soda and other chemicals, was merged with Georgia Gulf Corp., and the combined company was renamed Axiall Corp.

Downtown-based PPG received $900 million in cash as part of the deal and reduced the number of its outstanding shares by 7 percent, the company said.

Also as part of the deal, PPG's shareholders were given the option of exchanging PPG stock for stock in the commodity chemicals unit, which PPG had been calling Eagle Spinco. PPG said on Friday that investors would receive 3.2562 shares of Eagle Spinco for each PPG share they chose to exchange. The exchange offer expired at 8 a.m. Monday.

A total of 72.1 million shares of PPG stock were exchanged, the company said.

PPG announced the plan to merge Eagle Spinco with Georgia Gulf in July. The new company, which will trade under the ticker symbol AXLL, is expected to have annual revenue of about $5 billion and be the third-largest chlor-alkali producer and second-largest vinyl chloride monomer producer in North America.

Alex Nixon is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7928 or anixon@tribweb.com.

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