Drinker Biddle Advises Quaker Chemical on $1.6 Billion Combination with Houghton International, Creating Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR)

Drinker Biddle partner F. Douglas Raymond led teams in M&A, Securities, Antitrust, Business Tax, Corporate Finance, Employee Benefits, Environmental and Intellectual Property in the firm’s representation of Pennsylvania-headquartered Quaker Chemical Corporation in its combination with Houghton International. The combination created Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR), the global leader in industrial process fluids to the primary metals and metalworking markets, with $1.6 billion in revenue.

The Drinker Biddle team included Jill E. Bronson, Jay Brudz, Robert E. Cannuscio, Christopher H. DeGrezia, Elizabeth A. Diffley, James M. Fischer, Mona Ghude, Stephen D. D. Hamilton, Ira M. Kalina, Marc A. Leaf, Joanne C. Lewers, Lee Roach, Robin Sampson, Eric Marr, Allison S. Cordova, Brian DeVirgilio, Yael I. Kalman, Charles D. Lange, Liam J. Leyden, Stephanie A. Marcozzi, Roni K. Mathew and Erin E. Smith.

Financing of the $1.6 billion purchase price consisted of approximately $170.8 million in cash; the issuance of approximately 4.3 million shares of Quaker common stock to the selling shareholders, including Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group and other former owners of Houghton International, comprising 24.5% of the stock of the combined company; and the refinancing of approximately $660 million of Houghton’s net indebtedness.

After securing conditional regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, product lines of Houghton’s in Europe and North America with about $50 million of annual revenue were sold to French multinational oil company, Total S.A.

Quaker Houghton employs 4,000 associates and serves 15,000 customers worldwide. The company’s product and service offerings can be found in end-markets such as aerospace, aluminum, automotive, machinery, can manufacturing, industrial parts manufacturing, mining, offshore, steel, and tube and pipe industries.