Nov 3 2006
Eastman Chemical Company announced it has completed the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Eastman SE, Inc., to FutureFuel Corp. Included in the sale are Eastman's Batesville, Ark., manufacturing facility and its related assets and product lines that had been a part of the company's performance chemicals and intermediates segment.
The facility, which has approximately 400 employees, manufactures specialty organic chemicals products and has a growing presence in the biodiesel market. The sale is for a purchase price of $75 million plus an earn-out based on biodiesel sales over the next three years.
In July 2006, Eastman announced plans to sell the site because the growth opportunities for the site did not fit with the company's focus of driving growth in its core businesses. "This divestiture is expected to result in a better alignment of Eastman's resources with our strategy," said Jim Rogers, president of Eastman Chemical Company and head of the chemicals and fibers business group. "And we believe that FutureFuel Chemical Company is positioned well to explore the unique growth opportunities available to the site."
Rogers said that other Eastman sites will continue to manufacture and market products that are used in the global fine chemicals marketplace. These include complex organic molecules for fibers and food and beverage ingredients, as well as personal care and pharmaceutical ingredients. The company also provides custom manufacturing on a customer-by-customer basis.