PolyOne Acquires Second Specialty Business in Brazil

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• Brazil - Português

CLEVELAND, Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, has acquired Uniplen Industria de Polimeros Ltda. (Uniplen), a leading Brazilian producer of specialty engineered materials and distributor of thermoplastics.

"The Uniplen acquisition provides PolyOne with local expertise in specialty engineered materials as well as an attractive position in the Brazilian thermoplastics distribution market," said Stephen D. Newlin, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The combination of Uniplen and our previously announced acquisition of Polimaster firmly establishes our Specialty product offering and overall customer service capabilities in Brazil."

Newlin added, "We now have specialty engineered materials, color masterbatch and distribution capabilities in Brazil, providing the necessary critical mass to serve our global customers in the region.  Consistent with our globalization strategy, our expanded geographic footprint is capable of providing specialty solutions to customers anywhere in the world."

The recently acquired Brazilian businesses are located in Sao Paulo, Santa Catharina and Novo Hamburgo, near Porto Allegre and serve customers in diverse end markets including consumer, transportation and appliance.  

"Uniplen and Polimaster demonstrate our commitment to expanding our specialty platform with bolt-on acquisitions at reasonable prices," said Robert M. Patterson, senior vice president and chief financial officer. "We will continue to seek opportunities that increase our presence in high growth regions such as Brazil, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as in attractive end markets such as consumer and healthcare."

The Uniplen transaction was completed for an upfront cash purchase price of $21 million with a potential for further consideration payable over the next three years based on achieving certain performance metrics. Uniplen recorded revenues of approximately $34 million in 2010.  

About PolyOne

PolyOne Corporation, with 2009 revenues of $2.1 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. Headquartered outside Cleveland, Ohio USA, PolyOne has operations around the world. For additional information on PolyOne, visit our Web site at www.polyone.com.

To access PolyOne's news library online, please go to www.polyone.com/news.

Forward-looking Statements

In this press release, statements that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance.  They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements.  They use words such as "will," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial condition, performance and/or sales.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit markets that could adversely impact the availability of credit already arranged and the availability and cost of credit in the future; disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in geographic regions where we intend to expand; our ability to achieve new business gains; the effect on foreign operations of currency fluctuations, tariffs, and other political, economic and regulatory risks; changes in polymer consumption growth rates in the markets where we conduct business; changes in global industry capacity or in the rate at which anticipated changes in industry capacity come online; fluctuations in raw material prices, quality and supply and in energy prices and supply; production outages or material costs associated with scheduled or unscheduled maintenance programs; unanticipated developments that could occur with respect to contingencies such as litigation and environmental matters; an inability to achieve or delays in achieving or achievement of less than the anticipated financial benefit from initiatives related to working capital reductions, cost reductions and employee productivity goals; an inability to raise or sustain prices for products or services; an inability to maintain appropriate relations with unions and employees; the inability to achieve expected results from our acquisition activities; and other factors affecting our business beyond our control, including, without limitation, changes in the general economy, changes in interest rates and changes in the rate of inflation.  The above list of factors is not exhaustive.

We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports on Form 10-Q, 8-K and 10-K that we provide to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE PolyOne Corporation