LAKEWOOD, Calif. -- Purex Industries has annouced it has agreed in principle to be acquired by a group of private investors for $357 million.
Under the proposal, which was announced Thursday, the nation's fourth-largest producer of household cleaning products will be bought by a privately held corporation to be organized by Gibbons, Green van Amerongen, a private investment banking firm which specializes in so-called 'leveraged buyouts.'
Financing for the cash deal, which will offer stockholders $31.50 for each Purex share, will be provided through loans and equity investments by a number of major financial institutions, a Purex spokesman said.
A small group of private investors, which will include William Tincher, chairman, president and chief executive of Purex, and about 20 members of the Purex senior management; the principal owners of New York-based Gibbons, Green, van Amerongen and Fulcrum Limited Partnership, also will participate in the acquisition.
The decision to be acquired by a private investment group allows Tincher to continue as chairman, president and chief executive of the manufacturing firm. In addition, the existing management of Lakewood-based Purex and its subsidiaries will remain intact.
