France's Total SA has agreed to sell CCP Composites to Polynt Group SpA, based in Italy, for an undisclosed price.
CCP produces unsaturated polyester resins, gelcoats and vinyl ester. Its combination with Polynt's unsaturated polyester resins business would create the largest composite resins producer in Europe and number three globally, the companies claim.
CCP has 800 employees at 26 production sites worldwide, including 220 employees in France, mainly based at its Drocourt plant in northern France.
Its U.S. operations are based in North Kansas City, Mo. Until 2011, the company was known as Cook Composites & Polymers Co.
The company's revenue was $560 million in 2013.
Polynt, which reported revenue of $1.1 billion in 2013, has 1,500 employees in Europe including five plants in Italy, China and the U.S. The acquisition of CCP will be made by its U.S. subsidiary, PCCR, which is based in Carpentersville, Ill., and has four facilities that make coating resins.
Polynt is owned by European investment group Investindustrial, whose portfolio includes shareholdings in sports car maker Aston Martin and motorcycle manufacturer Ducati.
“The composite resins business is highly specialized and not integrated with Total's petrochemicals operations,” said Patrick Pouyanné, president of Total's Refining & Chemicals business, in a statement. “In joining a front-ranking global resins player, CCP Composites would be able to consolidate its position, participate to the creation of a global leader, and enjoy new growth opportunities. A combining with Polynt Group, which operates in segments that are a strategic fit with CCP Composites' would create a top-tier industrial front-runner.”
The combined Polynt and CCP would operate throughout the composites value chain, from upstream production of raw materials to downstream manufacture of resin-fiber composites. Their products are used in a wide range of applications, such as boat hulls, panels for refrigerated trucks, swimming pools and shower trays.
The companies also highlighted the geographic fit of the new group, with Polynt mainly active in Italy and CCP in France.
“This business [CCP] is an excellent fit with our existing operations in specialty chemicals and will provide us with a significant new presence in the marketplace from which to grow further in this industry,” said Andrea C. Bonomi, senior industrial advisor of Investindustrial, in a statement.
