US' Neenah & SWM merge to form specialty materials leader Mativ

Pursuant to the merger agreement, Neenah shareholders received 1.358 shares of SWM common stock for each share of Neenah common stock owned. SWM’s shareholders will continue to hold their shares of SWM common stock. All SWM shares are now shares of Mativ common stock, Neenah said in a media statement.

“I am extremely excited and proud to mark this important milestone in the journey of our two companies with the formation of Mativ. This merger is a unique opportunity to boldly reimagine our future as a stronger and faster-growing global enterprise. As we come together, we see significant near and long-term value creation opportunities to accelerate growth and amplify margins. With compelling strategic touch-points in key market categories, complementary geographies and technologies, increased global scale, and a passionate workforce with deep roots in material science, we are ideally suited to help solve our customer’s most critical challenges, which is the foundation of our cultural, commercial and financial success,” Julie Schertell, president and CEO of Mativ, said.

“As we bring the best of these two organisations together, our priorities are centred around supporting our customers, accelerating our growth, delivering the $65 million, or more, of deal-enabled cost synergies, and driving margins and cash flows to support deleveraging and a strong dividend. We will also continue to execute our strategy, including investments in our fastest growing and most profitable business units and decisive actions to optimise our portfolio over time. Mativ has tremendous potential, and, as we celebrate this new beginning, I want to recognise the efforts of our outstanding employees who work tirelessly every day to push the limits of what is possible,” Schertell added.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter in the rich histories of both companies, forming a scaled global leader in specialty materials to drive value for customers, employees, stakeholders, and our shareholders. We will continue executing a well-defined strategy, maintain an attractive financial profile, and advance our corporate stewardship and governance efforts. Mativ is committed to providing attractive returns to shareholders while maintaining a prudent balance sheet and disciplined approach to capital allocation. We have assembled an exceptional, diverse, and experienced leadership team, and we look forward to working with Schertell and her talented group of leaders to deliver on the promise of this transaction,” John Rogers, chairman of Mativ’s board of directors, said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)