FocusRhodia to strengthen Novecare with McIntyre acquisition

13 January 2009 22:21  [Source: ICIS news]

By Feliza Mirasol

NEW YORK (ICIS news)--Rhodia's planned acquisition of US specialty surfactants manufacturer McIntyre Group will help drive growth in its Novecare business for the home and personal care markets, senior executives with Rhodia said on Tuesday.

The $100m (€75m) acquisition of McIntyre strongly complements France-based Rhodia’s capabilities, said Tom Benner, Rhodia’s vice president and general manager for Novecare, North America.

“McIntyre and Rhodia already participate, to a very large extent, in the same chemistries, the same customers, and the same marketplace, so we feel very confident that this acquisition will be leveraged within the Novecare enterprise,” said Brenner.

Rhodia’s Novecare segment provides high-performance products and solutions to a wide range of industries including cosmetics, detergents, agrochemicals and oil, as well as industrial applications.

Rhodia’s strategy is to double the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of the acquired business within five years through a combination of factors, said Brenner. Three areas where synergistic opportunities lay are cross-selling opportunities, optimisation of supply chain and procurement, and strength in the technology portfolio.

McIntyre generated around $14.6m in EBITDA in 2008 on sales of $146m.

Benner said Rhodia will gain access to existing channels in McIntyre’s network and vice versa.

“We view the McIntyre supply chain as a significant bolt-on to our existing supply chain. In incorporating that into our network, we expect to achieve procurement and supply chain savings associated with the acquisition,” said Benner.

“In addition, we offer McIntyre our presence, strong in Asia and Latin America, where today McIntyre is just at the beginning of its journey,” said Sebastien Meric, global vice president of home and personal care business for Rhodia.

“We are lacking today what McIntyre offers us, which is the addition of surfactants that will strengthen our offering in the home and personal care markets, particularly with new hair care products. We’ll go from niche players to a broader market approach,” Meric said.

Other areas in which both Novecare and McIntyre operate include agrochemicals and oil and gas field chemicals.

Rhodia, which announced the acquisition on Monday, expects the deal to close in the first quarter.

($1 = €0.75)

To discuss issues facing the chemical industry go to ICIS connect

 

By: Feliza Mirasol
+1 713 525 2653

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly