Dock Resins Corporation

In 2001, Landec Corporation (NASDAQ: LNDC, Menlo Park, CA) made the decision to divest its New Jersey-based specialty chemical subsidiary, Dock Resins, because it no longer fit with Landec’s focus on the food and agricultural markets. Landec engaged Grace Matthews to manage the divestiture process and negotiate a sale to a strategic buyer.

Based on an initial analysis of the company, Grace Matthews recognized that the key to optimizing Dock Resin’s value was to identify synergistic buyers that would benefit the most from Dock’s strong market position as a supplier to the coatings and graphic arts industries.

Several strategic buyers actively pursued Dock, and ultimately Grace Matthews negotiated a sale to The Lubrizol Corporation (NYSE: LZ), a global fluid technology and high-performance chemical company. Lubrizol subsequently maintained Dock’s operations in New Jersey, and used the company as a platform to grow its coatings additives business.