Omnova shareholders approve Synthomer merger

Shareholders of Omnova Solutions Inc. have approved the agreement that will see Synthomer  plc acquiring all of the company’s outstanding common shares.

Omnova is a specialty chemicals company based in Beachwood, Ohio. Its sales for the 12 months ended Aug. 21 were about $760 million. Synthomer is a London-based polymer maker with fiscal year 2018 revenues of about $2.1 billion.

After the acquisition is complete, Omnova shareholders will receive $10.15 a share for each share they own, a news release stated. The deal was first disclosed in July.

“We are pleased that Omnova shareholders have overwhelmingly supported the pending merger with Synthomer, which represents a tremendous strategic and value-creating opportunity,” Anne Noonan, Omnova CEO and president, said in a statement. “The combined company will have an expanded global platform and portfolio to serve customers, greater supply chain and manufacturing scale to more efficiently produce and distribute product, an increased innovation pipeline to accelerate future growth, and a stronger balance sheet to drive inorganic growth opportunities.”

According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, more than 32 million shareholders voted in favor of the merger agreement. Just about 50,000 voted against it and about 418,000 abstained.

The boards of Omnova and Synthomer have already approved the deal. It is still subject to customary closing conditions. The companies said they aim to have the deal complete by the end of 2019, but regulatory clearance could delay the closing until early 2020.

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