Georgia Gulf Shares Soar on PPG Deak

By John Talty | July 19 2012 6:26 PM

Georgia Gulf Corp. (NYSE: GGC) shares soared after the company announced a deal Thursday to acquire PPG Industries Inc.'s (NYSE: PPG) commodity chemicals unit for $1.9 billion in cash and shares.

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Georgia Gulf shares were up 13.24 percent to $32.67 at Thursday's close. PPG Industries also saw its shares rise up 7.46 percent to $111.96 at the end of the day.

The new deal makes the Atlanta-based Georgia Gulf the second-biggest producer of vinyl chloride and the third-largest maker of chlorine in North America. Georgia Gulf will focus on the performance coatings and industrial coatings industries with those products, according to Reuters.

PPG, Pittsburgh-based, will spin off the chemicals unit and retain 50.5 percent ownership of the newly merged Georgia Gulf. The merger represents a major step in the right direction for Georgia Gulf after recently rejecting a buyout attempt by rival Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK).

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