COVINGTON, Ky. – Ashland Inc. signed a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of Northwest Coatings of Oak Creek, Wis., a formulator and manufacturer of adhesives and coatings employing ultraviolet and electron beam (UV/EB) polymerization technologies. Northwest Coatings is a holding of Caltius Equity Partners. The transaction, which includes production facilities in Milwaukee and Greensboro, N.C., is valued at approximately $72 million. Trailing 12-month sales of Northwest Coatings are nearly $40 million.