SK Capital Partners has closed its sale of Foremark Performance Chemicals to CC Industries.
Foremark is a producer of patented and proprietary natural gas sweeteners, various chemical building blocks including formalin, and slow-release fertilizers.
The company’s natural gas sweeteners are used to remove undesirable compounds, particularly hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2), from natural gas streams. Sweetening agents react with acidic gases like H2S and CO2, converting them into non-corrosive or less harmful compounds. This sweetening process is crucial for purifying natural gas before it enters pipelines or processing facilities, ensuring safety and preventing corrosion in equipment and pipelines.
Foremark’s formalin products are used as a raw material for many specialty chemicals used in countless industrial and consumer applications such as automotive, coatings, chemical intermediates, construction, crop nutrition and protection, disinfectants and preservatives. Foremark also manufactures Urea-Formaldehyde Concentrate (UFC) that is used as a building block for many slow-release fertilizers to increase crop yields.
Foremark, led by CEO Randy Owens, operates out of an automated, vertically integrated manufacturing facility located near Houston in La Porte, Texas, and is headquartered 17 miles south of La Porte in League City, Texas.
“We are proud of the transformation of Foremark under SK Capital’s ownership,” said Mr. Owens. “This transaction affirms the reputation we have developed as the industry leader in natural gas sweetening technology. I would like to thank our employees for their dedication and commitment and SK Capital for its support throughout its ownership period. We have strengthened and grown the company substantially while establishing the next phase of Foremark’s growth. We are very pleased to become part of the CC Industries family.”
SK Capital acquired Foremark in 2017. “SK Capital is privileged to have partnered with Randy Owens and the entire Foremark team,” said Jack Norris, a managing director at SK Capital. “We are proud and appreciative of Foremark’s accomplishments, having become the undisputed leader in natural gas sweetening technologies. We believe Foremark is well positioned to continue this growth and flourish under the new ownership. We wish CC Industries and all the employees of Foremark every success.”
CC Industries was founded in 1986 and is the holding and management company for the Crown family’s privately held industrial companies. The company’s sectors of interest include paper and packaging, packaging equipment, construction and building products, and transportation equipment. CC Industries generally targets companies with operations in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Asia.
The Crown family’s wealth stems from their ownership and management of Henry Crown and Company, a Chicago-headquartered firm that invests in publicly traded securities, real estate, investment funds, and privately held operating companies. Chicago-headquartered CC Industries operates as a subsidiary of Henry Crown & Company.
Henry Crown was a billionaire entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist who lived from 1896 to 1990. In 1919, Mr. Crown founded Material Service Corporation (MSC) which sold gravel, sand, lime, and coal to builders in Chicago. Today, MSC is one of the largest suppliers of construction materials in the United States. In 1959, MSC merged with General Dynamics with Mr. Crown as its chairman and controlling shareholder.
SK Capital invests in the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors and typically invests equity of $100 million to $200 million in each portfolio company. When combined, SK Capital’s portfolio companies generate revenues of more than $14 billion annually, employ more than 25,000 people, and operate more than 200 plants in over 30 countries.
In April 2024, SK Capital held a closing of SK Capital Partners VI LP with total capital commitments of $2.95 billion. The firm’s earlier fund closed in February 2019 with total capital of $2.1 billion. SK Capital was co-founded by Barry Siadat and Jamshid Keynejad and is based in New York City.
Piper Sandler and HSBC were the financial advisors to Foremark on this transaction and King & Spalding provided legal services.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | May 3, 2024
