Ecolab to sell Vehicle Care operations for $120M
St. Paul-based Ecolab has agreed to sell all assets of its vehicle care business to Atlanta-based Zep Inc. for $120 million in cash, the Star Tribune reports. Zep makes cleaning and maintenance solutions for commercial, industrial, institutional and consumer end-markets.
"This sale enables us to sharpen our strategic focus on our core business areas while assuring Vehicle Care customers will receive excellent ongoing product and service support from a long-established provider in the industry," Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, wrote on a news release.
Zep Vehicle Care – to be based in Minnesota – will be a leading provider of vehicle care products, including soaps, polishes, sealants, wheel and tire treatments and air fresheners to professional car washes, convenience stores, auto detailers, and commercial fleet wash customers, according to a company news release.
Last week, Ecolab announced it was buying Houston-based Champion Technologies, a maker of specialty chemicals for the oil and gas industries, for about $2.2 billion in cash and stock.
