US chemical company American Pacific eyes sell-off
05 Oct 2013
American Pacific Corp shares yesterday rose by nearly 11 per cent after Reuters reported that the US chemical company was considering selling itself.
Citing three sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that American Pacific has hired KeyBanc to advise on the sale and was currently in advanced talks with bidders.
Las Vegas-based American Pacific was founded in Nevada in 1955 for manufacturing specialty chemicals, principally oxidisers. Since then, it has expanded to focus on specialty chemicals and fine chemicals.
It supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients and advanced intermediates to the pharmaceutical industry and specialty chemicals used in solid rocket motors for space launch and military missiles for the aerospace and defense industry.
It also produces clean agent chemicals for the fire protection industry, as well as electro-chemical equipment for the water treatment industry.
The Nasdaq-listed company has a market capitalisation of around $420 million and its shares closed yesterday at $58.20.
American Pacific has manufacturing facilities in California, Texas, and Utah.