Johnson Wax Agrees to Buy Unilever Unit
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Johnson Wax Professional, the closely held U.S. maker of floor cleaner and Good Sense air fresheners, agreed to buy Unilever’s industrial cleaners unit for about $1.6billion to more than double its sales.
Racine, Wis.-based Johnson Wax, spun off from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. in 1999, would pay $1billion in cash for DiverseyLever and would lend Unilever $279million, the company said. Unilever also would get a one-third stake valued at $300million in the combined operations.
The acquisition would add 11,000 employees to Johnson Wax’s 3,800 and would boost its annual revenue to $2.6 billion.
Shares of Unilever, based in the Netherlands and Britain, fell 32 cents to $56.04 on the NYSE.
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