Clariant announces completion of its divestment program
Swiss specialty chemical company Clariant announced that it has reached definitive agreements for the divestment of its pigments business to a consortium of Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners.
At the time of closing of the transaction, Clariant will reinvest to become a 20% shareholder alongside Heubach and SK Capital in the ultimate holding company. The combined business will be a global pigments player with approximately 3,000 employees generating more than EUR900 million (USD1.09 billion) in annual sales and strong service and production capabilities across the globe.
The reinvestment enables Clariant to further benefit from the improving profitability of the pigments business resulting from the initiated efficiency program and to participate in the future growth opportunities as well as synergies of the combination with the Heubach Pigments business.
The value of the transaction is between CHF805 million (USD895.4 million) to CHF855 million (USD951.1 million) on a cash and debt free basis, depending on an earn-out payment of CHF50 million (USD55.6 million), which is contingent on the 2021 financial performance of Clariant’s pigments business. This represents a multiple of 10.7 to 11.4 times the stand-alone adjusted 12-month EBITDA as of April 2021.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2022. The share of the participation in Infraserv Höchst, Germany, attributable to Clariant’s pigments business is not part of this transaction.
