As announced at the beginning of December 2009, US compounder and distributor A. Schulman (Akron, Ohio; www.aschulman.com) has completed its acquisition of the manufacturer of speciality resins and concentrates for rotomoulding ICO (Houston, Texas / USA; www.icopolymers.com). Earlier this year the US Federal Trade Commission had given the green light for the acquisition to go ahead – see Plasteurope.com of 26.01.2010. After ICO stockholders agreed to the transaction on 28 April, A. Schulman reported two days later that the deal, worth some USD 191m, had been completed.

As a direct result of the transaction, A. Schulman will strengthen its presence in the US masterbatch market, gain plants in Brazil and Malaysia as well as additional facilities in Australia.