France’s Air Liquide is putting its German unit Schuelke up for sale in a deal worth up to 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) as it seeks to streamline its operations and shed non-core assets, people close to the matter said.
Air Liquide has asked JP Morgan to find a buyer for the maker of hygiene products like preservatives, disinfectants, biocides and medical skin care products, they added.
Air Liquide and JP Morgan declined to comment.
Norderstedt-based Schuelke, which was bought by Air Liquide in 1996 but no longer fits with its focus on supplying industrial gases, has annual sales of 335 million euros.
It is expected to post 2019 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of more than 70 million euros, the people said.
Schuelke could be valued at roughly 12-13 times that, they said, adding that Air Liquide is expected to shop the asset to peers such as Ecolab as well as private equity groups in an auction expected to launch shortly.
The sale of Schuelke comes as private equity firm American Securities puts Emerald Performance Materials on the block in the U.S. with the help of Morgan Stanley, people familiar with that situation said.
The two companies operate in broadly the same space.
Emerald comprises two units, with Kalama Chemical specializing in preservatives and aroma chemicals and CVC Thermoset Specialties supplying products such as liquid polymers, specialty epoxy resins, reactive diluents and curing agents.
The company is expected to post EBITDA of around $110 million this year and could be valued at 9-10 times that. Schuelke’s relatively higher valuation relates to the fact that it is more service-oriented, the sources familiar with both deals said.
American Securities bought Emerald in 2014 from investor Sun Capital, which created it in 2006 out of businesses bought from Lubrizol Corp, a chemicals maker specializing in lubricants for engines.
The private equity firm is expected to market Emerald to peers such as Eastman, Lanxess, Evonik and Ineos – albeit some rivals may only show interest in one of the units – as well as to other private equity firms, the sources said.
American Securities declined to comment, while Morgan Stanley had no immediate comment.
By Arno Schuetze
Source: Reuters
INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, has today announced the official opening of a new world-scale ABS[1] facility located in Ningbo, China, together with its joint venture partner SINOPEC. The facility has an annual nameplate capacity of 600,000 tonnes.
The merger of Röhm’s Acrylic Products business unit and SABIC’s Functional Forms business has resulted in the formation of Polyvantis. This new company will offer extruded products in the forms film, sheet, pipe and rod for markets that include building and construction, transportation and aviation, electrical and electronics, automotive and home and garden.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (Adnoc) is considering plans to acquire upstream oil and gas company Wintershall DEA, an affiliate of BASF SE, according to a Bloomberg report citing people with knowledge of the matter. A deal to acquire Wintershall DEA could be worth more than €10 billion, the report said. BASF and Adnoc declined to comment on the report.
