Fairmount Santrol and Unimin Corp. announced that following the close of their proposed merger, the combined company will be known as Covia Holdings Corp. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CVIA.”
In addition, Fairmount Santrol, Unimin, SCR‐Sibelco NV and the other parties to the merger agreement governing the terms of the merger have agreed to increase the number of Covia board members at closing from 11 directors to 13.
The companies have named four additional, independent directors, including Chairman Richard Navarre, to complete the 13-member board.
The two companies are pleased to introduce a new name chosen to signify the introduction of a transformational leader in proppant and industrial materials solutions. “Co” symbolizes the coming together of the two companies, and represents an overall commitment to collaboration and partnership. “Via,” the Latin word for “by way of,” connotes the importance of how the company will operate, with a focus on responsibility, quality and reliability.
Jenniffer Deckard, president and chief executive officer of Fairmount Santrol, who will serve as president and chief executive officer of Covia, said, “Covia will be a clear leader in our space, best positioned to serve customers in key industrial end-markets and every shale play, with a broad geographically diverse asset base and a full portfolio of high-performance solutions. Covia will further distinguish itself by the way in which it will lead.”
Upon closing of the merger, Covia’s board of directors will consist of:
Seven directors selected by Unimin – Richard Navarre (who will be the chairman of the Covia board), Kurt Decat, Jean-Luc Deleersnyder, Michel Delloye, Jean-Pierre Labroue, Olivier Lambrechts and Jeffrey Scofield.
Five directors selected by Fairmount Santrol – William Conway, Charles Fowler, Stephen Hadden, William Kelly and Matthew LeBaron. Jenniffer Deckard by virtue of serving as president and chief executive officer of Covia.
“I have great respect for what Unimin and Fairmount Santrol have accomplished through their dedication to customers, communities, employees and other partners and look forward to continuing this commitment at Covia,” said Navarre.
Proppants represent approximately 55 percent of the combined companies’ operations, while industrial materials covers about 45 percent. That includes 45 million tons of annual sand and minerals processing capacity, and 3 million tons of annual coating capacity. The merged company would have 1.3 billion tons of sand reserves. It will also have 96 distribution terminals and 18 train terminals to serve drilling areas.