SK Capital Partners and Heubach Group have acquired the pigments business of Clariant AG, which makes materials used in many plastic products.
SK of New York and Langelsheim, Germany-based Heubach are paying 805 million Swiss francs ($895 million). The combined business will operate under the Heubach name, creating a global pigments leader with more than 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) in annual sales, officials said in a June 14 news release.
The deal could be worth another 50 million Swiss francs ($55.6 million), based on the 2021 financial performance of the pigments unit. As part of the transaction, Clariant — based in Muttenz, Switzerland — will be reinvesting for a minority stake in the combined business.
The pigments unit being acquired is a global provider of organic pigments, pigment preparations and dyes, operating 13 global production sites and employing approximately 1,900.
Officials said that the businesses "share a complementary product portfolio and a regionally compatible asset footprint, which will allow for an expanded product range and wider geographical coverage to better serve customers."
In the release, Heubach CEO Johann Heubach said that "the fit between Heubach and Clariant Pigments is perfect."
"We have been in pigments for more than 200 years," he added. "My late father and I set out to drive consolidation in the pigments industry, and the combination of Heubach and Clariant Pigments is a major milestone in this vision."
SK Managing Director Aaron Davenport said that Clariant Pigments "is a premier global colorant solutions provider, and, together with our new partners … we see a tremendous opportunity to create significant value for all stakeholders."
Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to take place in the first half of 2022.
The deal comes almost a year after Clariant sold its masterbatches unit to Avient Corp. for $1.4 billion.
SK is a financial firm whose holdings include plastics materials makers Ascend Performance Materials, Geon Performance Solutions and Techmer PM. SK also owns SI Group, a specialty chemicals firm that's a major producer of plastic additives.
Heubach is a global producer of organic, inorganic and nontoxic anti-corrosive pigments, operating four global production sites and employing approximately 1,000.