POLYONE Announces Acquisition of FIBER-LINE®

01/01/19

CLEVELAND, Jan. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, today announced the acquisition of Fiber-Line, a global leader in customized engineered fibers and composite materials for $120 million.

Founded in 1987, Fiber-Line has utilized its customer-centric culture and specialty innovation to establish a leading portfolio of materials serving the fiber optic cable, oil & gas, industrial and consumer industries.  With five manufacturing locations in North America, Europe and Asia, Fiber-Line provides material science and polymer formulation expertise to engineer specified performance characteristics for fiber.  These include strength, abrasion and chemical resistance, and specialty colorants.

"Fiber-Line is an innovative and unique addition to our portfolio of fiber and composite solutions with tremendous upside for growth," said Robert M. Patterson, chairman, president and CEO, PolyOne Corporation.  "They provide an immediate leadership position in serving the build out of fiber optic cable and future 5G networks." 

Mr. Patterson added, "This acquisition represents a significant investment for our Specialty Engineered Materials segment.  We expect it to add nearly $100 million in revenue in 2019 and be immediately accretive to EPS."

Fiber-Line's leading technologies complement PolyOne's existing specialty composite solutions and wire & cable applications.  PolyOne will utilize its proven invest-to-grow integration strategy to increase innovation for Fiber-Line customers, by leveraging deeper formulation expertise and a global commercial presence that accelerates growth.

"Joining the PolyOne team represents another important and exciting milestone for Fiber-Line employees and our valued customers," said Dale Outhous, CEO, Fiber-Line.  "Through PolyOne's future investments in Fiber-Line's technical capabilities, operations and commercial reach, we will be able to serve our customers better than ever before."

Mr. Patterson added, "We're very excited to welcome Dale and his accomplished Fiber-Line management team to PolyOne.  Through increased collaboration with customers, we'll capture both near-term growth prospects as well as benefit from the expansion of 5G networks.  Longer term, we expect future growth to be driven by significant technology synergies between fiber and composites, utilizing specialty colorants and coatings, which PolyOne is well positioned to develop."