Ashland Global To Acquire Pharmachem Laboratories For $660 Million

Ashland Global Holdings Inc. , a specialty chemicals company serving a range of consumer and industrial markets, said Monday that it will acquire Pharmachem Laboratories Inc. for $660 million. Pharmachem Labs provides ingredients for the health and wellness industry, such as vitamin and dietary supplements, ingredients for skin care and cosmetics, fragrance ingredients for laundry detergent and perfumes, and more. The all-cash transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the June quarter. It's also expected to be accretive to Ashland's earnings per share in the first year following the close of the deal. Ashland will host its investor day in New York City on May 1. Ashland shares are inactive in premarket trading, and are up nearly 12% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 4% for 2017 so far.