Deliver Your News to the World

Advent To Acquire Celanese Corporation’s Oxo Products And Derivatives Businesses


WEBWIRE

Frankfurt, 13th December 2006 – Advent International, the global private equity firm, today announced that it has agreed to acquire Celanese Corporation’s “oxo” products and derivatives businesses, referred to as “the Oxo Group”, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of oxo coating intermediates and performance chemicals. Valued at €480 million, the acquisition comprises the oxo chemicals and derivatives activities of Celanese and the European Oxo GmbH joint venture between Celanese and Degussa AG. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.

The buyout is Advent International’s ninth German transaction in the past two years and solidifies its position as one of the world’s leading private equity investors in the chemicals sector. It also typifies one of Advent’s key investment strategies – acquiring complex, international businesses and improving their performance through strategic restructuring and growth initiatives.

The Oxo Group is a global leader in the production of key chemical building blocks and derivatives for diverse applications including in coatings, inks, lubricants and plasticizers. It is expected to generate revenues of €1 billion in 2006 from two business areas: coating intermediates, representing approximately 60% of sales, and performance chemicals, with 40% of sales.

Oxo has established strong positions to service many key product segments in Europe and North America by offering a well-balanced portfolio of products covering the entire oxo value chain. The group has production facilities in Oberhausen and Marl, Germany, and Bay City and Bishop, Texas.

Leveraging its sector expertise, Advent will work with Oxo’s management to integrate and streamline its activities and accelerate growth by expanding its portfolio of intermediate and higher-value derivative products.

“Oxo has become a leading player in many product areas due to its extensive product portfolio, application know-how, strong value chain derived from its key building blocks and excellent customer relationships,” said Ronald Ayles of Advent International. “The market for oxo chemicals and derivatives has improved over the last few years and offers further growth potential and consolidation opportunities.”

David Weidman, president and chief executive officer of Celanese Corporation, said, “We believe that this sale will allow Advent International to focus and further strengthen these businesses in a manner consistent with customer interests.”

Advent International has been investing in the chemicals sector for 18 years and has completed over 25 transactions in this sector worldwide. Recent examples include H.C. Starck, the world’s leading manufacturer of refractory metals and one of the top 3 global producers of advanced ceramics and electronic chemicals; HT Troplast, a leading global diversified plastics manufacturer; Dufa, Romania’s largest decorative paints producer; Bolix, a leading construction chemicals business and Poland’s second-largest manufacturer of exterior finish insulation systems; and Vinnolit, one of the world’s leading PVC producers.

Advent also has a proven track record in the German market, having completed nine transactions in the past two years. In addition to H.C. Starck and HT Troplast, recent German transactions include the agreement to sell Sportfive, Europe’s leading sports rights agency, to Lagardčre, and the buyout of RWE Solutions, a leading provider of energy-related infrastructure services.

Last week Advent won a record four industry awards at the 2006 European Private Equity Awards, organised by the EVCA, Real Deals magazine and INSEAD. These include European Private Equity House of the Year as well as two honours – European Mid-Market Deal of the Year and DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) Deal of the Year – for its successful turnaround of German industrial electronics group Moeller. Advent also was named German Private Equity Firm of the Year by Financial News in April 2006.

About Advent International
Advent International is one of the world’s leading private equity firms, with over €8 billion ($10 billion) in cumulative capital raised and offices in 14 countries across Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. Since its inception in 1984, Advent has invested in more than 500 companies in 35 countries and has taken over 130 of these businesses public on major stock exchanges worldwide.

For more information, visit www.adventinternational.com.



WebWireID25064





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.