TOLEDO, Ohio -- Owens-Illinois Inc., said Friday it will sell its Libbey Inc. table glass division for an estimated $225 million to concentrate on its glass and plastic packaging business.
Spokesman John Hoff said O-I hoped the sell Libbey by the middle of the year and some of the proceeds may be used to acquire other companies in the packaging business.
Libbey had net sales of $279 million in 1992.
The company is a leading producer of glass tableware in the United States and one of the largest producers of glass tableware in the world.
The proposed sale provides another tremor to Toledo as it tries to maintain its reputation as the glass capital of the world.
Earlier this month, automotive glassmaker Libbey-Owens-Ford Co. decided it would keep its headquarters in Toledo. But the decision was made after the company seriously considered offers by Michigan's governor to move to near Monroe or Ann Arbor.
Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp., whose roots also extend back to the turn of the century and Edward Drummond Libbey, is considering alternatives to its Toledo headquarters.
In addition to its sales in the United States, Libbey exports to more than 100 countries around the world.
Libbey is headquartered in Toledo and has three manufacturing plants, located in City of Industry, Calif.; Shreveport, La.; and Toledo.
Libbey also has 30 sales offices throughout the country.
'Our strategy is to focus in the packaging business, which is the largest part of the company,' he said.
In October 1991, O-I sold its HCR health care business. In December 1991, the Toledo company once again became a publicly held corporation after a four-year absence caused by the $3.8 billion leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravits and Roberts Co.
Owens-Illinois told the Securities and Exchange Commission it will propose a public stock offering to sell 15 million shares of common stock at an anticipated offering price of between $14 and $16 a share.
Owens-Illinois said it will use the proceeds to reduce indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
Once the sale is completed, Owens-Illinois will hold no interest in Libbey, whose stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The underwriters will be Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.; Lehman Brothers Inc.; Merrill Lynch & Co.; and Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc.
