Unifrax, a leading global provider of high-performance specialty materials focused on thermal management, specialty filtration, battery materials, emission control and fire protection applications backed by Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. ("Clearlake"), today announced it has signed definitive agreements to acquire $Lydall Inc(LDL.US)$, a leader in the design and production of specialty filtration materials and advanced material solutions. 

With its leading technologies and 23 manufacturing facilities around the world, Lydall is well positioned to capitalize on growth in clean air filtration and electric vehicle adoption, among many other attractive markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Lydall shareholders will receive $62.10 per share in cash for each share outstanding, implying a total enterprise value of approximately $1.3 billion.

"The combination of Unifrax and Lydall creates a global specialty materials platform with new cutting edge technologies in advanced filtration, electric vehicle battery systems, and energy saving applications," said John Dandolph, President and CEO of Unifrax. "The addition of Lydall's people, technologies, and assets to the Unifrax portfolio will help accelerate our innovation pipeline and creates a world class platform capable of solving the world's most pressing energy consumption, environmental and filtration challenges. We are excited to partner with a company that is similarly focused on our commitment to a Greener, Cleaner, and Safer® world."

Sara Greenstein, President and CEO of Lydall, added, "We are excited about the combination of Lydall and Unifrax. With this transaction, we are creating a leader in specialty filtration and advanced materials with over 250 years of combined expertise and experience delivering innovative and compelling solutions to customers worldwide."

We have long admired Lydall and what it would bring to our platform investment in Unifrax, and could not be more excited about partnering with the Company and its team to build one of the world's leading global specialty materials platforms. We have supported Unifrax's development of new technologies over the last few years that have the potential to change how we think about the industries in which both Unifrax and Lydall operate and inform their futures. The addition of Lydall to the Unifrax portfolio and its strong capabilities in advanced filtration creates a global platform with significant scale that together can accelerate each company's respective compelling growth plans.

-said José E. Feliciano, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clearlake, and Colin Leonard, Partner at Clearlake, in a joint statement. 

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC acted as lead financial advisor, J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal counsel to Unifrax in the transaction. BofA Securities is acting as exclusive financial advisor, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as legal counsel to Lydall in connection with the transaction.