Ferro Completes Acquisition of Nubiola

Ferro Corporation  has completed the acquisition of Barcelona-based Nubiola for approximately $165 million, subject to customary working capital and other purchase price adjustments. The acquisition was previously announced on April 29, 2015.

Nubiola is a worldwide producer of specialty inorganic pigments and the world’s one of the largest producers of Ultramarine Blue, a high-value pigment for plastics and construction industries due to its durability, unique color attributes and whitening capability. Other products include specialty Iron Oxides, Chrome Oxide Greens and Corrosion Inhibitors. Nubiola employs approximately 750 people, including temporary employees, and has production facilities in Spain, Colombia, Romania, and India and a joint venture in China.

“We are delighted to have Nubiola join Ferro, and we welcome Nubiola employees to the Ferro team,” said Peter Thomas, Ferro’s chairman, president and CEO. “Nubiola employees have done a tremendous job building the company into a global leader in inorganic pigments with a reputation for quality, innovation and customer service. We intend to invest in R&D and product development programs to further enhance Nubiola’s market position as an innovation leader.”

Thomas continued, “Nubiola is a great fit with Ferro. We share common customers and distribution channels, and our global locations mesh nicely. Nubiola’s high-value products complement Ferro’s product portfolio and its business model of regional production and high-touch local technical service is consistent with Ferro’s go-to-market strategy.”

Ferro’s Antonio Patrocinio, who is managing the integration of Nubiola into Ferro, said, “We are very excited to combine the strengths of our two companies and deliver world-class color solutions to a broad range of global markets. For Nubiola customers, the acquisition should be seamless, as they will continue to work with their regular sales, technical and customer service contacts.”

Nubiola will continue to operate under the Nubiola name, co-branded with the Ferro name.

Ferro has been actively pursuing acquisitions as part of a growth and value creation strategy. The company acquired Vetriceramici, one of the leading producers of high-end tile coatings, last December. Thomas said, “We have a healthy pipeline of new products coming to market and under development, and we are looking at acquisition opportunities like Vetriceramici and Nubiola – companies with strong positions in their markets and synergies with our core glass-based coatings and color solutions operations. We are pleased with our progress and very excited about the future.”