Hercules Update
From the Press Release:
WILMINGTON, DE, NOVEMBER 5, 2008 . . . Hercules Incorporated (NYSE: HPC) announced that at its special shareholders meeting held earlier today Hercules’ shareholders adopted the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated July 10, 2008, pursuant to which Ashland Inc.(ASH) has agreed to acquire Hercules. The Merger Agreement was adopted by holders of more than two-thirds of Hercules’ outstanding common stock, as required by Hercules’ Certificate of Incorporation and the Merger Agreement. The terms of the Merger Agreement call for Hercules shareholders to receive, for each share of Hercules common stock, $18.60 in cash and 0.0930 of a share of Ashland common stock.
Hercules and Ashland expect the transaction to close on November 13, 2008.
Hercules Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1912.
- Green and Sustainable Business Update
- Wilmington Trust to Host Post-Election Advisory Seminar for High Net Worth Individuals
There was an article in the News Journal about this $2.3 billion deal that closes next week:
Ashland’s Hercules takeover approved
How does this deal impact retiree benefits like medical insurance?
The Hercules Inc. Employee Savings and Investment Plan (The 401k) is administered by Vanguard. They sent out a “Dear Plan Participant” letter in October that provides details of the fund transition. Since Hercules stock will be de-listed, the plan will convert each share of Hercules stock into $18.60 in cash and 0.093% of a share in Ashland. The cash portion will then be used to purchase Ashland shares.
More information is available here:
http://www.herc.com/pensioners/stock_fund.pdf
The benefits provider for the Hercules pensions and healthplan is Ceridian Corporation. I have seen nothing in the literature they have released so far that indicates a cut in benefits is imminent.
The companies did announce:
“Ashland expects to realize annualized run-rate cost savings of at least $50 million by the third year following the transaction’s close by eliminating redundancies and capturing operational efficiencies.”