SK Capital has acquired the Textile Chemicals, Paper Specialties and Emulsions businesses from Clariant and expects to close the transaction by the end of September. Upon closing, the three divisions will be combined into a new platform company called Archroma.
Once acquired, Archroma will be a supplier of products and services to the textile, paper, adhesives, and coating industries with revenues of approximately $1.3 billion, 25 global manufacturing facilities, and approximately 3,000 employees. The company will be headquartered in Switzerland and its Textile Specialties, Paper Solutions and Emulsions Products businesses will be managed, as they are today, from Singapore, Switzerland and Brazil respectively (www.archroma.com).
To lead Archroma, SK Capital has brought together a senior leadership team with experience in the chemicals and process industries who will work with the current heads of the three business units to ensure a smooth transition to an independent consolidated company. The new members of the management team and their respective positions are: Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Wessels; Chief Financial Officer, Roland Waibel; Chief Human Resources Officer, Valérie Robert; Chief Information Officer, Vincent Keller; and General Counsel, Hans Lourens.
“We are pleased to bring together a highly skilled and seasoned leadership team that have proven track records of driving growth and improvement in the specialty chemicals industry,” said Aaron Davenport, Managing Director at SK Capital. “We are convinced that the combination of this new leadership team together with the strong management currently in place at the textiles, paper, and emulsions businesses will ensure a seamless transition for our customers as well as put the company in position to accelerate growth, enhance business process improvement and drive substantial innovation at Archroma in the future.”
SK Capital invests equity of $25 million to $100 million in companies operating in the specialty materials, chemicals and healthcare sectors. The firm is currently investing from SK Capital Partners III, L.P., a $500 million fund of committed capital. SK Capital has offices in New York and Boca Raton (www.skcapitalpartners.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 9-13-13
