chemicals

Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire Cyanco from Oaktree Capital which acquired the company in October 2008. 

Cyanco is the largest global producer of sodium cyanide, an important raw material input used in the gold and silver mining industry. Sodium cyanide is used in gold cyanidation, a hydrometallurgical technique for extracting gold from low-grade ore by converting the gold to a water-soluble slurry. It is the most commonly used leaching process for gold extraction. Sodium cyanide briquettes – white in color and resembling charcoal briquettes are primarily used by the mining industry. Cyanco’s briquettes are packaged in hopper cars, ISO containers, one metric ton bag/boxes and one metric ton composite packaging.

Cyanco has two production facilities in Winnemucca, NV with a combined production capacity in excess of 240 million pounds annually; a production facility in Pearland, TX that has production capacity of over 120 million pounds annually; delivery terminals in Wyoming, Quebec, and Mexico; and a laboratory facility in Reno, NV. In addition to its production operations, Cyanco’s Applied Technology division provides consulting services, laboratory support, and cyanide processing technologies to assist its customers in maximizing their metal recoveries using sodium cyanide. Cyanco, led by its CEO Jeffrey Davis, is headquartered south of Houston in Pearland, TX (www.cyanco.com).

“We are pleased to acquire Cyanco, an industry leader with a reputation for safety, reliability, and customer service,” said Dev Kapadia, a Managing Director of Cerberus. “We believe in Cyanco’s proven business model, which has demonstrated positive, sustainable growth due to its long-term customer contracts, strong cash flow, and leading competitive position in the attractive sodium-cyanide market. We look forward to working with the management team at Cyanco to provide expansion capital and operational expertise to accelerate the company’s successful growth strategy.”

Cerberus has approximately $34 billion of capital under management and invests in three strategies: global credit opportunities (which includes non-performing loans, corporate credit & distressed debt, mortgage securities & assets, and direct lending); private equity; and real estate. The firm was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in New York (www.cerberuscapital.com).

“This transaction marks the next logical stage in Cyanco’s evolution,” said Cass Traub, a Managing Director of Oaktree. “After working alongside management for the past nine years, we have every confidence that Cerberus and management will create an even greater Cyanco enterprise.”

Oaktree makes investments in distressed debt, corporate debt (including high yield debt and senior loans), control investing, convertible securities, real estate and publicly-traded equities.  The firm has over 900 employees and $100 billion in assets under management and is headquartered in Los Angeles (www.oaktreecapital.com).

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | February 8, 2018

Littlejohn & Co. has signed an agreement to acquire Cornerstone Chemical Company from H.I.G. Capital. In 2011, H.I.G. acquired the Building Block Chemicals segment of Cytec Industries for $180 million and renamed it Cornerstone Chemical Company. At that time, the segment had revenues of approximately $600 million.

Cornerstone is a producer of intermediate chemicals, including melamine, acrylonitrile, sulfuric acid, and urea that are used in a range of industrial and consumer applications such as water treatment, oil recovery, agriculture, plastics, furniture and flooring, and coatings. The company has an 800-acre chemical manufacturing and storage complex and employs approximately 460 people. Cornerstone, led by CEO Greg Zoglio, is headquartered near New Orleans in Waggaman, LA (www.cornerstonechemco.com).

Cornerstone is one of the largest producers of melamine – a raw material used for coatings, laminates, fire retardants, molding compounds, and wood adhesives – in North America; a leading manufacturer of acrylonitrile – used in the production of acrylamide, acrylic fibers, nitrile rubber, elastomers, ABS plastics, and surface coatings – in the US; and a major supplier of sulfuric acid – used as a drying agent in the production of industrial gases – in the Gulf Coast region.

“Cornerstone is a market leader with deep customer relationships, favorable industry dynamics, and numerous growth opportunities,” said Drew Greenwood, a Principal at Littlejohn. “We are delighted to be partnering with Cornerstone and its strong management team as the company accelerates its growth and expansion plans.”

Littlejohn makes control and non-control investments in middle-market companies that are undergoing a fundamental change in capital structure, strategy, operations or growth.  The firm invests from $50 million to $150 million of equity in middle market companies that have annual revenues of $100 million to $800 million.  Littlejohn invests across a range of industries and acquires manufacturers, distributors, and service providers.  The firm is currently investing from Littlejohn Fund V, LP, which has $2 billion in capital commitments.  Littlejohn is based in Greenwich, CT (www.littlejohnllc.com).

Goldman Sachs has provided committed financing to support the acquisition. KeyBanc Capital Markets was the financial advisor to Cornerstone.

This transaction is expected to close in August 2017.

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | July 21, 2017

Hastings Equity Partners has acquired IMPACT! Chemical Technologies, a provider of specialty chemicals to oil and gas production and midstream companies.

IMPACT!’s products include acid non-emulsifiers, anti-sludge compounds, iron control additives, surfactants, scale Inhibitors, acid corrosion inhibitors, and others. The company supplies its customers from 12 locations across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. The company was founded in 2010 and has a blending facility and in-house laboratory located at the company’s headquarters in Midland, TX. IMPACT! has approximately 170 employees (www.impactchem.com).

“We couldn’t be more impressed with the experienced and talented team at IMPACT!” said Ted Patton, Managing Director of Hastings Equity Partners.  “We will support IMPACT! as they continue to grow their customer base and expand geographically.”

Hastings Equity Partners invests from $5 million to $20 million in energy services and equipment companies (upstream, midstream, and downstream) with EBITDAs from $4 million to $15 million. Hastings’ approach is to leverage the operational experience of the firm’s managers and investors, many of whom are active or former CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies. The buy of IMPACT! is the fifth investment for Hastings Equity Fund III, LP, which closed in August 2014 with $172 million of capital commitments. The firm is based in Waltham, MA (www.hastingsequity.com).

“I’m proud of the business we’ve built at IMPACT! and feel Hastings is the ideal partner to support our growth going forward,” said Brandon Martin, President of IMPACT!.

Locke Lord (www.lockelord.com) provided legal services to Hastings during the transaction and advisory services were provided by Riveron Consulting (www.riveronconsulting.com).

© 2016 Private Equity Professional | December 12, 2016

Intervale Capital has made an equity investment in Aegis Chemical Solutions, an oilfield chemicals and water treatment business.  The transaction merges Aegis with Mid-Chem, a Midland, Texas-based production chemicals business, and positions Intervale as the majority owner of Aegis.

Aegis provides oil and gas production chemicals and chlorine dioxide treatment services to customers in major oilfield markets, with a particular focus on the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico.  The company is headquartered in The Woodlands, TX, with operations in Midland, TX and other areas of the Permian Basin (www.aegischemical.com).

Intervale plans to invest additional capital to expand Aegis’s geographic reach and to strengthen its product and service offering.

“We are very pleased to partner with an excellent team at Aegis to grow the company into a premier independent oilfield chemicals provider.  We believe there is a tremendous opportunity for Aegis to expand its products and services within its existing Permian Basin footprint and to other major producing regions,” said Charles Cherington, Managing Partner at Intervale.

Intervale Capital invests exclusively in middle-market oilfield services and manufacturing companies and related technologies. The firm has more than $650 million under management and is currently investing from its second fund. The firm is headquartered in Cambridge, MA with an additional office in Houston, TX (www.intervalecapital.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 1-14-13