Whittaker to Sell Chemical Units for $225 Million

Whittaker Corp. announced Monday that it will sell its specialty chemical business to a Chicago firm for $225 million and use the proceeds to reduce debt.

The diversified Los Angeles company had previously said it wanted to sell its chemical and some other businesses to concentrate on its aerospace and biotechnology segments. The sale of the specialty chemical units to Morton International, a chemical and manufacturing firm, must receive approval from the Justice Department and from the Ministry of Finance in France, where Whittaker has a plant.

Whittaker’s specialty chemical operations, which include separate divisions that make industrial coatings and adhesives, posted combined revenue of $180 million for the fiscal year ending Oct. 31, 1989. The chemical businesses consist of 13 factories and two research laboratories.

Whittaker had originally planned to keep its adhesives division but decided to sell that business to reduce more of its debt.

“Selling our adhesives business provides us with the opportunity to make a substantial reduction in our outstanding debt, which we consider a priority at this time,” Joseph F. Alibrandi, Whittaker’s chairman, said in a statement released by the company.

Whittaker has already sold off numerous businesses, including a batteries and metals unit, and plans to shed another half-dozen units, according to a company spokesman.

Nearly a year ago the company announced a stock buyback and plans to sell numerous divisions, apparently in an effort to discourage an unwanted takeover bid by a New Jersey investor.