1985 Chesebrough-Pond $1.25 billion bid for Stauffer Chemical
1986/12 Unilever がStauffer 親会社のChesebrough-Pondを買収（$3.1 billion）
Chesebrough-PondはVaseline その他消費財のメーカーで、UnileverはStauffer に関心なし
1987/6 ICIがUnileverからStauffer を買収（$1.69 billion）
ICIはStauffer のspecialty and bulk
chemical divisionsには関心なし
August 20, 1987
ICI completes sale of Stauffer specialty chemicals to Akzo for $625 million.
ICI has completed the sale of the specialty chemicals business of their chemical company for $625 million to Akzo.
ICI acquired Stauffer from Unilever for $1.69 billion on July 22, 1987, principally to obtain the benefits of the excellent product and geographic fit
June 6, 1987 NYT
IMPERIAL SET TO BUY STAUFFER
Imperial Chemicals Industries P.L.C., the huge British industrial company, said yesterday that it had agreed to buy the Stauffer Chemical Company from Unilever, the British-Dutch consumer products company, for $1.69 billion. The deal is the latest in a wave of purchases of American chemical companies by Europeans.
Stauffer, a subsidiary of Chesebrough-Pond's Inc. that is based in Westport, Conn., is a major producer of herbicides for corn and rice. It was acquired by Unilever in its $3.1 billion purchase of Chesebrough-Pond's last December.
Imperial, the world's fifth-largest and the most profitable chemical company, has vigorously pursued growth through acquisitions. This deal gives it a stronger foothold in the United States chemical market, something European chemical companies have long sought. Up From 11th Place
The acquisition of the Stauffer agrichemical business will make Imperial the fourth-largest company in this market in the United States, up from 11th place.
Under the agreement, Imperial will assume Stauffer's $233 million in debt. On news of the deal, the stock of Netherlands-based Unilever N.V. rose $7, to $319.25, on the New York Stock Exchange, and the shares of Unilever P.L.C., a British-based sister company, rose $5, to $208.50.
The sale by Unilever was not unexpected. In acquiring Chesebrough-Pond's, the maker of Vaseline and other consumer products, Unilever acted to thwart a bid from American Brands Inc. When the Unilever acquisition was announced, the company said that Stauffer was one of the businesses it intended to shed, because the chemical business did not fit into its strategic plans. Celanese and Inmont Deals
The chemical industry has been busy for deal makers. Last year, Hoechst A.G. of West Germany acquired the New York-based Celanese Corporation for $2.84 billion. In 1985, a West German chemical company, BASF A.G., bought the Inmont Corporation, the largest American maker of printing and packaging inks, from the United Technologies Corporation for $1 billion.
Imperial, which has avoided protracted, high-profile takeovers, has announced more than 120 acquisitions in three years, 40 in the last year. In the last two years it has acquired two major American holdings: the chemical business of the Beatrice Companies for $750 million in February 1985 and the Glidden coating and resin business from the SCM Corporation last October for $580 million.
Imperial earned $1.5 billion in 1986, one of the best performances in British manufacturing history. Its strongest growth was in the United States and Australia. Imperial is involved in a range of chemical businesses, including pharmaceuticals, industry and specialty chemicals and agricultural products.
Stauffer last year had an operating profit of $113 million on sales of $1.3 billion. Imperial said it expected Stauffer's sales to rise to $1.4 billion this year. Imperial's agrichemical business accounts for about $1.2 billion of its $16 billion in sales.
In a meeting with reporters and securities analysts yesterday, Ronnie Hempel, an executive director of Imperial, said that Stauffer's specialty and bulk chemical divisions would probably be sold. He added that several parties had expressed interest in the divisions.
''They are not within the strategic thrust of I.C.I.,'' Mr. Hempel said. ''They are profitable, and we're certainly not determined to sell them at any price. But if the right price comes along, we'll sell them.'' Agricultural chemicals account for about a third of Stauffer's sales.
Analysts depict Stauffer as a business that has been recovering. Stauffer's bulk and specialty chemical businesses had not kept pace with the recovery that came earlier to the rest of the industry, and its agricultural products suffered in part because of reduced corn plantings and several wet planting seasons.
Analysts said they had expected the purchase price to be higher. ''I had heard everything from $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion,'' Paul C. Christopherson, an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Company, said. ''If there was any surprise about this, it was the price.''
Chesebrough-Pond's USA, Inc. represents such cornerstone household items as Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, Pond's beauty creams, Q-Tips swabs, and Ragú spaghetti sauce. With roots dating back to the turn of the century, the company had experienced constant growth and profitability, until it was destabilized by its acquisition of the Stauffer Chemical Company, which in turn led to its takeover by Unilever N.V. in 1986.
Chesebrough-Pond's officially came into existence in 1955 when Pond's Extract Company merged with Chesebrough Manufacturing Company, Consolidated. Both of these companies had remarkably long and rich histories. Chesebrough Manufacturing dated back to 1880 and Pond's had been in operation since the 1870s. The companies had remarkably similar origins: both were launched by chemists who hoped to create household remedies for various ailments.
Chesebrough made a surprising $1.25 billion bid for Stauffer Chemical Company in 1985. Makers of weed killers, pesticides, and flame retardants, Stauffer had been suffering from a lackluster performance at the time. And while Stauffer did have a food ingredients business with fair sales, speculation was that it was a self-protective, antitakeover move on Chesebrough's part. The company was already having difficulties with its Ragú, Bass shoes, Prince tennis racquets, and Health-tex clothing sales. Even the flagship product, Vaseline, had dropped in sales. In 1984, for the first time in 29 years, Chesebrough's earnings declined. Its heavy debt load and depressed earnings made the company again ripe for takeover.
Showing an interest in Chesebrough was Unilever N.V., the world's largest consumer products company in 1986, with sales of more than $24 billion. In December of 1986, Chesebrough agreed to a $3.1 billion takeover bid by Unilever. An Anglo-Dutch conglomerate, Unilever stood to gain from Chesebrough's overseas sales, then accounting for almost a quarter of its overall annual sales. It also broadened Unilever's U.S. earnings base--tripling its personal care products there--and brought solid brand names into the giant's portfolio. Immediate speculation was that Unilever would unload Chesebrough's faltering units. Meanwhile, Chesebrough had introduced new products into its successful cornerstone Ragú line, already benefitting that segment's profits. Ward was replaced by Richard G. Finn as president and CEO.
Unloading the losing portions of the Stauffer Chemical unit, the Prince tennis racket business, and the ailing Bass shoe operation helped reduce the purchase price. The Faberge Salon division of Chesebrough was sold to Conair Corporation in 1990. That same year, the company signed an agreement with Elizabeth Taylor to launch her own fragrance. The resultant Passion line met with immediate success.
Chesebrough returned to concentrating on the strength of its marketing innovations and internal product development. In 1991, Vaseline Intensive Care products developed a innovative ad campaign, featuring a simulated television newscast called "Skin Science Updates." Also that year, however, Chesebrough was hit with a bill for $21.5 million in damages, awarded to a five-year-old child regarding an eardrum damaged by a Q-Tip. The following year, the company unveiled a major renovation of its Pond's product lines. Pond's was then the number one facial cleanser in a $500 million segment.
During this time, Unilever, while a top seller of personal products worldwide, was second in the United States to the Procter & Gamble Company. By 1993, the company was aggressively positioned to build its presence in the American skincare, haircare, cosmetics, and fragrance businesses, largely with the help of Chesebrough-Pond's.