Skip to main content

 

McWhorter Technologies, Inc., a specialty chemical company based in Carpentersville, Illinois, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to approve its proposed acquisition of RUCO Polymer Corporation, based in Hicksville, New York. Prior FTC approval of the acquisition is required under a 1993 FTC order. The application will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until Aug. 7.

McWhorter Technologies develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of resins products for the coating and plastics industries. RUCO makes polyester polyols, used in the production of polyester resins for the polyurethane industry and in other applications. McWhorter Technologies maintains in its applica- tion that the acquisition likely would have no negative effect on competition in the polyester polyols market.

McWhorter Technologies formerly was McWhorter, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valspar Corporation. Valspar was required to spin off McWhorter as part of the 1993 consent order mentioned above and which settled FTC charges that Valspar's acquisition of the Resin Products Division of Cargill, Inc. would violate federal antitrust laws. The FTC alleged that the acqui- sition would eliminate competition between two leading U.S. pro- ducers of coating resins. The 1993 order also requires Valspar and McWhorter Technologies, until 2003, to obtain the FTC's approval before acquiring assets used in manufacturing coating resins in the United States. (McWhorter has filed a petition with the FTC to reopen the order and set aside the prior-approval requirement. That petition is subject to public comment until Aug. 1.)

Comments on the application should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

Copies of the application and other documents associated with this case are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, same address as above; 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest FTC news as it is announced, call the FTC's NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web Site at: http://www.ftc.gov

(FTC Docket No. C-3478)

Return to top