Investcorp Buys Avecia's Stahl Unit

24 December 2001 00:00  [Source: ICB Americas]

Investcorp has reached agreement for the buyout of Stahl International,a manufacturer of specialty chemicals for leather finishing and other specialized coatings and coloration applications. Stahl is being bought for á375 million ($338.6 million). It is one of five operating units within the Avecia Group, itself jointly owned by Investcorp and Cinven. The deal is expected to close in January.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Stahl reported sales in 2000 of á338.7 million ($305.13 million). The company operates 13 manufacturing plants and 21 technical service laboratory sites in about 30 countries. Stahl USA is located in Peabody, Mass. The company's core businesses are leather finishes, colors and tanning products, industrial colorants, shoe finish and Permuthane, which supplies coatings and finishes for the synthetic leather, automotive interior, textile and floor covering end use markets, as well as in pressure sensitive adhesives for the labels and tapes market.

The company says that the buyout will enable it to grow its core leather finishes markets and associated new business areas even more, particularly through expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Avecia says it will use the proceeds of the sale to pay down senior bank debt and fund additional growth investments in its biotechnology and pharmaceutical businesses. The transaction is being financed with á240 million ($216.7 million) of debt facilities (including a á35 million ($31.5 million) revolving facility) underwritten by JP Morgan.

"Stahl has performed strongly as an Avecia business unit and we believe this buy-out will give it greater potential for market growth as an independent business," says Philippe M. Cos-teletos, a member of Investcorp's management committee.

Founded in 1982, Investcorp is a global investment group with operations in North America, Western Europe and the Arabian Gulf. It has concluded over 90 corporate and real estate investments with an aggregate value of roughly $19 billion.

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