Arsenal Capital To Buy Ferro's Fine Chemicals Business for $66 mln - ...

Tag : Fine Chemicals
(RTTNews) - Friday, private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners,said it signed a definitive agreement to buy Ferro Corporation's(FOE: News ) Fine Chemicals business, a manufacturer of electrolytes used inlithium ion batteries. The deal worth $66 million, is expected toclose in the fourth quarter.

The New York-based company said that the business acquired wouldfunction as a stand-alone entity with the name of NovolyteTechnologies, which has manufacturing facilities in both the U.S.and China.

In a separate statement, Ferro Corp. said that the Fine Chemicalbusiness segment reported revenues of approximately $55 million in2007, and currently employs approximately 140 employees, who wouldbe transferred after the sale.

Arsenal said Edward Frindt, the present General Manager of the FineChemicals business would become the CEO of Novolyte upon completionof the transaction.

Arsenal said the Fine Chemicals business has products andtechnologies that will be better positioned as a stand-alonecompany, to take advantage of global opportunities. Favorably,Arsenal is known to have led a number of complex corporate set-upsand successfully executed several such transactions in recital withcorporations such as Cambrex Corporation, Wyeth, and Mail-Well,Inc.

Novolyte's products would include electrolytes and materials usedfor lithium batteries, ultracapacitors and other energy storagedevices, solvents used in a variety of industrial processes andproducts, electronic materials, polymer ingredients, pharmaceuticaland agricultural chemicals. The products and technology solutionsare an integral part in the emerging growth of lithium batteriesfor hybrid electric or HEV and electric vehicles, the company said.

Earlier this year, Arsenal announced plans to acquire DSM SpecialProducts, a business unit of Royal DSM N.V. that manufacturesspecialty ingredients used in food, pharma, and animal feed, aswell as in a range of industrial applications.

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