Lanxess to buy Emerald Kalama

Lanxess has signed a binding agreement to acquire Emerald Kalama Chemical from private equity firm American Securities for €867 million. The deal, which will be financed from existing liquidity, should be completed in Q2, subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

Based Kalama, Washington state, Emerald Kalama employs about 500 and has other production sites at Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Widnes, UK. It had sales of around $425 million, 45% of it in North America, and EBITDA pre-exceptionals of about $90 million last year. Lanxess expects to achieve synergy effects of about $30 million/year within three years.

The company manufactures speciality chemicals and has 75% of its sales in the consumer segment. These include preservatives for food, household and cosmetic applications, flavours and fragrances, as well as products for animal nutrition. The remainder comes from industrial applications, including plastics and adhesives.

By acquiring Emerald Kalama, said Matthias Zachert, chairman of the board of management at Lanxess, “we will further strengthen our Consumer Protection segment and open up new application areas with strong margins, for example in the food industry and animal health sector”.