W. R. Grace to Sell Its SoftKat Division

W. R. Grace & Co. said Monday it reached tentative agreement to sell its SoftKat division in Chatsworth, along with two other units, to a group composed of Carlyle Group and managers of the divested units.

The price was not disclosed. Carlyle is a private merchant bank in Washington.

SoftKat, a distributor of educational, entertainment and home-productivity software for computers, is being sold with Baker & Taylor Books and Baker & Taylor Video, which distribute books, videotapes and other products to schools, libraries and retailers. The combined annual revenues of the divisions total $750 million.

The three units will form a new company, Baker & Taylor Distribution, whose management team will include SoftKat President Jacqueline L. Cochran. SoftKat has been owned by Grace since 1986.

Grace, a highly diversified company based in Boca Raton, Fla., wants to sell the divisions as part of a restructuring plan announced last week. The plan calls for Grace to shed assets valued at $1.5 billion so that it can focus on its core specialty, chemical and health-care businesses.