HIG Capital acquires specialty chemicals company Petroferm
30 October 2008
Private equity firm H I G Capital, LLC, based in Miami, Florida, today aid that it had acquired privately held manufacturer of specialty chemicals, Petroferm, Inc through one of its portfolio companies, H I G. Chemicals Holdings Corp.
The acquisition includes the Lambent Technologies division, which manufactures and supplies select raw materials used in value added formulations, through three companis acquired by Petroferm in the 1990's, Siltech, Calgene Chemical and Hansotech, all of which make up Lambent that manufactures and supplies products for the lubricant, personal care, food processing, and household, industrial and institutional industries.
Petroferm is a leading producer of specialty chemicals, serving a wide variety of end markets and blue-chip customers. Its products include surfactants, esters and alkoxylates, as well as specialty cleaning solutions, fuel additives and oilfield chemicals. The company's manufacturing facility is located in Gurnee, Illinois, in a large surfactant manufacturing plant acquired from BASF Corp in 2003.
Founded in 1981, Petroferm in its early days was a biotechnology company focused on recovery, transportation and combustion of heavy hydrocarbons (crude oil), which eventually bacame the fuel services business unit, Petroferm's oldest division. Petroferm's cleaning products business unit was also founded in the mid-1980s to replace hazardous cleaning solvents commonly used in manufacturing processes. With the the signing of the Montreal Protocol in the late 1980's Petroferm formulated CFC-free cleaning products, leading to its worldwide success in electronics and precision cleaning industries.
In the mid-1990's, Petroferm began a series of acquisitions that began with Siltech, manufacturer of specialty silicones, followed by oleochemical derivatives manufacturer Calgene Chemical, and Hansotech, which sold natural waxes primarily to the personal care industry. In 1999, Petroferm acquired Banner Chemicals in the UK, and in 2004 divested Banner Chemicals, retaining ownership of Banner subsidiary Joseph Storey and Co, Ltd, a manufacturer of flame retardants and smoke suppressants.
H I G believes the Petroferm business is an excellent complement to its industry-leading North American oleochemical business, Uniqema Americas, a licensed trademark from Croda International, PLC, after it was acquired from Croda International, PLC earlier this year. H I G plans to maintain the two as distinct operating subsidiaries. However, customer and end-market overlap will provide substantial opportunities to grow through coordinated efforts. The two businesses will have combined sales in excess of $300 million.
