Johnson Wax Agrees to Buy Unilever Unit

Johnson Wax Professional, the closely held U.S. maker of floor cleaner and Good Sense air fresheners, agreed to buy Unilever’s industrial cleaners unit for about $1.6billion to more than double its sales.

Racine, Wis.-based Johnson Wax, spun off from S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. in 1999, would pay $1billion in cash for DiverseyLever and would lend Unilever $279million, the company said. Unilever also would get a one-third stake valued at $300million in the combined operations.

The acquisition would add 11,000 employees to Johnson Wax’s 3,800 and would boost its annual revenue to $2.6 billion.

Shares of Unilever, based in the Netherlands and Britain, fell 32 cents to $56.04 on the NYSE.