Merger Status Report: Ashland - Hercules

This entry will acknowledge Ashland's (ASH) comments Tuesday regarding the status of its merger with Hercules (HPC):

We have received all necessary regulatory approvals and continue to work with our banks on the structure and terms of the committed financing. The next milestone is the Hercules shareholder vote on the transaction at their Nov. 5 special meeting.

Naturally, the statement regarding the incomplete financing is somewhat bothersome with respect to a swift deal completion after the HPC shareholder meeting. This will quite obviously be the standard concern for any transaction nearing completion and involving financing for the foreseeable future.

However, in this case there is currently no expectation that financing issues will develop into a major problem overall or in timing to completion. Assuming HPC shareholders approve the merger on November 5, the transaction is currently expected to close shortly thereafter and, in a worst-case scenario, no later than the third week of November.

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