Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL; Tel Aviv) says that its performance products segment has agreed to sell the company’s Germany-based pharmaceutical, cosmetics and gypsum (PCG) businesses to an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners (New York), a private equity firm active in the chemicals industry. The share and asset purchase agreement is expected to close in the near term, ICL says. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. ICL’s PCG business units are engaged in the production of active ingredients for antacids and antiperspirants, as well as products for dental applications. The sale of the PCG business units is part of ICL’s strategy to divest its non-core businesses to focus on its core businesses in the agriculture, food and engineered materials markets and to optimize its positioning in those markets. As part of the strategy to divest non-core businesses, ICL, earlier this year, completed the sale of its businesses that produce alumina compounds, paper chemicals, and water treatment chemicals to Kurita Water Industries (Tokyo), Japan’s leading water treatment company, for €250 million ($272 million). Last December, ICL also agreed to sell its Rhenoflex business unit based at Ludwigshafen and in China to Findos Investor (Munich), an independent, midmarket private equity fund. Rhenoflex is a leading supplier of high-end shoe reinforcement materials and orthopedic parts to leading brands in the global footwear industry.
One Rock’s purchase of the PCG businesses is in line with its investment strategy and will provide One Rock with an opportunity to expand its activities in the global chemicals industry, ICL says.
“ICL performance products intends to use the proceeds from the sale of our PCG businesses to strengthen our core businesses in the food and engineered materials markets, and to expand our global presence, especially in emerging markets,” says ICL performance products segment’s president and CEO, Mark Volmer. “We are certain that we have found an optimal owner for our PCG units that will develop their businesses and increase their activities globally,” Volmer says.
Earlier this year, One Rock Capital purchased a stake in Compass Chemical (Smyrna, GA), a maker of organophosphates, for an undisclosed amount.
By Deepti Ramesh
