Westlake Deepens Global Compounds Footprint With ACI Business Buyout

Westlake Corporation WLK has expanded its specialty materials platform by acquiring the compounding solutions business of ACI/Perplastic Group. The move meaningfully enhances its global compounds portfolio.  

The acquired business brings a well-established presence in high-value solutions. Headquartered in Portugal, ACI offers specialty materials used across end markets such as wire and cable, supported by manufacturing operations in Mexico, Portugal, Romania and Tunisia.  

By integrating ACI’s technical expertise, specialty formulations and international production footprint, Westlake aims to broaden its product offering, deepen customer relationships and strengthen its competitive position within its Housing & Infrastructure Products segment.  

The transaction supports Westlake’s strategy of growing higher-value businesses and expanding its reach in key global markets, while adding complementary technologies, new specialty products and capabilities to its existing compounding operations. Westlake highlighted the opportunity to leverage ACI’s reputation for delivering innovative, high-value solutions. The buyout expands WLK’s compounds’ manufacturing footprint into Portugal, Romania and Tunisia, adding to its existing operations in Mexico. 

Shares of WLK are down 4.8% over the past six months compared with the industry’s 1% decline. 

WLK's Zacks Rank & Key Picks

WLK currently carries a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Consumer Discretionary space are Colruyt Group N.V. CUYTY, Sharkninja Inc. SN and Cimpress plc CMPR. CUYTY, SN and CMPR carry a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUYTY’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at 77 cents per share, indicating a 5.5% year-over-year increase. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current fiscal year has been stable over the past 60 days.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SN’s current fiscal-year earnings stands at $5.13 per share, implying a 17.4% year-over-year increase. Shares of SN have gained 4.7% over the past six months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMPR’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $3.54 per share, indicating a 510.3% year-over-year increase. Shares of CMPR have soared 43.3% over the past six months.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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