Swedlow Signs Expected Agreement to Be Acquired

Swedlow Inc., as expected, said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to be acquired by Pilkington Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pilkington Brothers PLC, a British glassmaker. The deal calls for Pilkington to pay $32.60 per share, or $42.3 million, for Swedlow, a Garden Grove-based plastics manufacturer specializing in military aircraft canopies and windows. Swedlow said company shareholders will be asked to vote on the agreement Dec. 18.

The acquisition--originally announced Monday--was arranged after the Federal Trade Commission held up for more than a year a similar buy-out offer by PPG Industries Inc., claiming that the giant domestic glassmaker would monopolize the aircraft transparencies market if it owned Swedlow.