Axiall rejects $ 3.1 bn revised takeover proposal from Westlake Chemical

Axiall Corporation on April 4, 2016 rejected a revised proposal from Westlake Chemical Corporation to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Axiall for a consideration of $14 cash and 0.1967 Westlake shares per Axiall share, or approximately $23.12 per share based on the closing price of Westlake common stock on March 29, 2016.
 
“Axiall noted that it actively engaged in discussions with Westlake over the past several weeks in an effort to see if Westlake was willing to make a revised proposal that appropriately reflects the high quality of Axiall’s assets, the significant growth potential of its business and the powerful synergies available in a combination. The Axiall Board of Directors, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, carefully reviewed, considered and unanimously rejected the revised proposal,” said in a press statement.
   
Westlake Chemical’s revised proposal represented a premium of over 143 percent to Axiall’s closing price of $9.60 per share on January 22, 2016, the last trading day before Westlake submitted its initial proposal to Axiall, and an increase of approximately 17 percent to Westlake’s initial proposal of $20 per share. The total value of the revised proposal is approximately $3.1 billion, including the assumption of certain Axiall liabilities, which include approximately $1.5 billion of debt outstanding as of December 31, 2015.
 
After the rejection of new proposal, Westlake said it intends to file preliminary proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to proceed with soliciting proxies to elect an alternate slate of ten independent and highly-qualified candidates to Axiall's Board of Directors who will ensure that all of Axiall's strategic options are considered fully.