Court Approves RPM Agreement to Resolve Asbestos Personal Injury Claims
MEDINA, OH - RPM International Inc. announced that the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and the United States District Court in Delaware have confirmed the plan of reorganization for RPM's Specialty Products Holding Corp. (SPHC) subsidiary and related entities.
SPHC originally filed for bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2010, to permanently resolve asbestos claims related to its Bondex International Inc. subsidiary. At closing of the plan of reorganization, which is expected to take place over the next several days, a trust will be established under Section 524(g) of the United States Bankruptcy Code for the benefit of current and future asbestos personal injury claimants. The trust will assume all liability and responsibility for these current and future asbestos claims, and SPHC and its related entities will have no further liability or responsibility for, and will be permanently protected from, the claims.
At the same time, financial results of SPHC's operating subsidiaries, which have not been included in RPM's financial reports since the bankruptcy filing, will be reconsolidated with RPM's results for most of the second half of the company's fiscal year ending May 31, 2015, and subsequently. While RPM continued to own SPHC and its subsidiaries during the bankruptcy process, their financial results were not consolidated with RPM's during that time.
"We are pleased to bring finality to our legacy Bondex asbestos liability and welcome back into the RPM family an outstanding group of SPHC operating companies that are generating more than $400 million in sales on an annualized basis, along with strong operating income and cash flow," said Frank C. Sullivan, RPM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
SPHC operating subsidiaries include: Chemical Specialties Manufacturing Corp., a producer of commercial cleaning products; Day-Glo Color Corp., a manufacturer of fluorescent colorants and pigments; Dryvit Systems Inc., a manufacturer of exterior insulation finish systems; Kop-Coat Inc., a producer of wood treatments for lumber and coatings for the marine market; RPM Wood Finishes Group (Mohawk Finishing Products, CCI and Guardian Protection Products Inc.), a primary supplier of wood coatings to the furniture industry; TCI Inc., a producer of powdered metal coatings; and ValvTect Petroleum Products, a producer of fuel additives.
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