Purchased: Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross says today he is buying The Woodlands-based Nexeo Solutions chemical company in a roughly $1.6 billion deal, FuelFix.com reports. The plan is for Ross’ blank-check holding company, WL Ross Holding Corp., to acquire a majority of Nexeo and take the private specialty chemical company public on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the Nexeo name. WL Ross is purchasing a 65% stake in Nexeo from private equity firm TPG Capital through a combination of cash and WL Ross shares. TPG, which bought Nexeo in 2011 for less than $1 billion, will retain 35% ownership in the chemical company. Read the full story.
Warning sign: U.S. home resales fell sharply in February in a potentially troubling sign for America’s economy which has otherwise looked resilient to the global economic slowdown, Reuters reports. The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales dropped 7.1% to an annual rate of 5.08 million units, the lowest level since November. Sales have been volatile and prone to big swings up and down in recent months following the introduction in October of new mortgage regulations, which are intended to help homebuyers understand their loan options and shop around for loans best suited to their financial circumstances. Read the full story.
Not good: A dreaded scenario for U.S. oil bulls might just be becoming a reality, Reuters reports. Some U.S. shale oil producers, including Oasis Petroleum and Pioneer Natural Resources Co., are activating drilled but uncompleted wells in a strategic reversal that threatens to bring more crude to a saturated market and dampen any sustained rebound in prices. When oil prices started their long slide in mid-2014, many producers kept drilling wells, but halted expensive fracking work that brings them online, waiting for prices to bounce back. But now, with crude futures hovering near multiyear lows and many doubting recent modest gains that brought oil prices near $40 a barrel CLc1 can hold, the backlog of DUCs is already shrinking in some areas. Read the full story.
