Dexter Completes Sale of Packaging Coatings Business, Dexter SAS to Valspar

Dexter Corp. said today that it has completed the previously announced sale of its Packaging Coatings business and its French industrial coatings subsidiary, Dexter SAS, to the Valspar Corp., a major coatings manufacturer based in Minneapolis. Dexter's Packaging Coatings business, which has operations in more than a dozen countries, supplies a range of products serving the beer, beverage and food can, aerosol and tube markets. The Packaging Coatings unit and Dexter SAS had combined 1998 sales of $212 million. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In announcing the sale, K. Grahame Walker, chairman and CEO of Dexter Corp., said the Packaging Coatings business can better realize its growth opportunities with Valspar. "[Valspar] provides an excellent strategic fit and a broader position in the coatings market," he said. "Dexter is now a more focused company whose specialty materials will deliver real value to our customers with products based on proprietary technology."

The acquisition significantly enhances Valspar's position as a leading supplier of coatings and metal decorating inks to the worldwide can industry. Dexter, a global specialty materials supplier with operating segments in life sciences, nonwovens and specialty polymers, caters to the aerospace, electronics, food packaging and medical markets.