Quaker Chemical Corporation said last week that it continues to be in productive discussions with the European Commission and Federal Trade Commission regarding its combination with Houghton International.
Based on these discussions, Quaker said it continues to expect the remedy will involve a divestment of some product lines which, in total, are approximately 3% or less of the revenues of the combined company. This is consistent with Quaker's original projections and previous comments. Quaker is in discussions with potential buyers for the product lines to be divested and intends to present a remedy that meets the needs of both regulatory authorities in the third quarter.
Based on the information available to date, Quaker expects to receive approval from the regulatory authorities and close the combination in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Michael F. Barry, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Quaker said, "While the regulatory process is taking longer than expected, it is moving in the right direction with constructive discussions with both regulatory authorities. The additional time will allow us to finalize the process with the potential buyers and the regulators. We believe the end result will be a remedy that meets the needs of the market, the regulatory authorities, and the new combination."