PPG to sell auto glass unit for $330 million

PPG Industries Inc. said today it has signed an agreement to sell its automotive glass and service unit to a New York investment firm for $330 million in cash plus a 40 percent ownership interest in a new company that will operate the business.

Pittsburgh-based PPG said the buyer is a group of funds managed by Kohlberg & Co. of Mount Kisco, N.Y. PPG will receive about $270 million in cash from the deal after making payments to former minority interests, transaction fees, expenses and taxes.

The deal will include PPG's Creighton automotive glass plant in East Deer, along with plants in Tipton, Blair County, and Meadville, Crawford County. In all, PPG has nine automotive glass manufacturing plants, nine satellite assembly plants and service centers, all of which employ about 4,400 workers.

PPG planned to sell that business last year for $500 million to Platinum Equity LLC, a private equity firm in Beverly Hills, Calif. But Platinum Equity terminated the agreement in late December and sued PPG in New York State Supreme Court, claiming it did not owe a $25 million breakup fee because PPG allegedly misrepresented the financial health of its automotive glass business. That case remains in the New York court.

"This transaction is another positive step forward in our portfolio transformation," PPG Chief Executive Charles E. Bunch, said in as statement. "It enables us to focus more on coatings and specialty products, and significantly reduces PPG's exposure to the U.S. automotive market."

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