Bangkok/ Frankfurt am Main — Advent International (“Advent”), one of the world’s largest and most experienced investment companies, has announced the sale of global leading synthetic resin manufacturer allnex Holding GmbH (“allnex”) to PTTGC International (Netherlands), a wholly owned subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited (“PTTGC”) headquartered in Bangkok. The Frankfurt-based company is valued at around EUR 4 billion in the transaction, which corresponds to 12.2 times LTM’s March 2021 EBITDA.
allnex is a manufacturer of synthetic resins for the paint and coatings industry and offers a wide range of coating polymers and additives — including powder resins, water-soluble industrial synthetic resins, UV resins, synthetic resin crosslinkers and additives for use on wood, metal, plastics and other surfaces, for example. With sales of around 2 billion euros and approximately 4,000 employees, the company is the market leader in resins for industrial applications, including in the automotive and packaging industries. With its global production network of 33 manufacturing sites and 23 research and technology centers, allnex supports customers around the world. The company has been a pioneer in sustainable innovations for the paint and coatings industry for over 70 years. Here, allnex focuses on environmentally friendly technologies, such as water-based resins or powder resins.
With more than 30 successfully completed transactions, Advent is one of the most experienced private equity investors in the chemical industry. Advent acquired the coating resins business from Cytec Industries in 2013 as part of a carve-out. Over the past eight years, Advent has established the business as an independent company under the name allnex and strengthened its market position through several acquisitions and organic growth. With the acquisition of competitor Nuplex in 2016, allnex expanded its business in growth markets and became the global market leader. With Advent’s support, the company has invested significantly in growth, more than doubling the number of its employees, production facilities, research and technology centers, and customers. In total, Advent has allocated more than €1.5 billion for growth.
Ronald Ayles (photo), managing partner and head of the global chemical industry practice at Advent International., said, “Over the past eight years, we have guided the allnex management team from spin-off to global market leadership as a manufacturer of industrial coating resins. Our heavy investment in growth has fueled allnex’s success — especially in environmentally friendly technologies. With PTTGC, we have now found the ideal partner to support the next phase of allnex’s growth and continue the success story.”
The new owner PTTGC is a subsidiary of PTT Group, Thailand’s largest energy company
The Group operates internationally and is a Fortune 500 company. PTTGC produces and distributes basic petrochemicals and intermediates as well as chemical downstream products for the packaging, textile and automotive industries, among others. In the past two years, the company ranked first in the “Chemicals” category of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
PTTGC’s goal is to strengthen its leading position in the chemical business with environmentally friendly innovations and advanced technologies. The company is a long-term investor and will support allnex to expand its access to the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, which offers great growth potential for the coatings industry. In addition, PTTGC will strengthen allnex’s presence in growth markets and provide improved access to raw materials.
“allnex is the global market leader in synthetic resins for the paint and coatings industry. With its broad product portfolio, stable earnings, and as a pioneer in green technologies, allnex is ideally positioned to benefit from the three megatrends in the industry: the increasing demand for high-performance coating resins, the ongoing growth trend towards emerging markets, and the move towards sustainable coating solutions. We look forward to leveraging this growth potential together with the allnex team.”
The sale of allnex is expected to close in Q4 2021, subject to regulatory approvals.
Advisor Advent: Allen & Overy
Led by partner Dr. Helge Schäfer (Hamburg), together with partners Dr. Michiel Huizinga (Frankfurt) and Gordon Milne (London) as well as counsel Alexander Wüpper (Frankfurt) and senior associate Monika Przygoda (London, all Corporate/M&A/Private Equity).
The entire team included well over 100 lawyers from a wide variety of practice groups in 18 Allen & Overy offices worldwide.
About Advent International
Founded in 1984, Advent International Corporation is one of the world’s largest and most experienced private equity investors. The company has completed over 375 private equity transactions in 42 countries and manages assets of €64 billion (as of March 31, 2021). With 14 offices in 11 countries, Advent has built a globally integrated team of more than 240 investment professionals in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The company focuses on investments in five core sectors, including financial and business services, healthcare, chemicals and industrials, retail, consumer products and leisure, and technology.
Advent has invested in over 30 companies in the chemical industry in recent years. Examples include Röhm, one of the global market leaders in methacrylate chemistry, allnex, a leading global supplier of synthetic resins for the paint and coatings industry, and Oxea, a leading supplier of oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives. Advent has also invested in companies such as VIAKEM, a leading manufacturer of fine chemicals, and GTM, a transnational distributor of chemical raw materials in Latin America.
After 35 years dedicated to international investment, Advent International Corporation remains committed to working with management teams to deliver sustainable revenue and profit growth for its portfolio companies. www.adventinternational.de