INEOS to sell melamine, paraform businesses to Germany’s Prefere Resins

LONDON (ICIS)–INEOS is to sell its Melamines and Paraform business segments to German phenolic resins producer Prefere Resins for an undisclosed amount, the European chemicals major said on Wednesday.

Picture source: INEOS

The transaction is expected to be finalised in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval.

INEOS Melamine has three sites in Springfield (Massachusetts) in the US, Frankfurt in Germany, and Surabaya in Indonesia.

It makes sales of €130m/year, according to INEOS, and employs 150 people globally. It has total production capacities of 110,000 tonnes/year.

Melamine is used in thermosetting resins for laminates, protective coatings, moulding compounds, textile finishes and paper coatings. A small fraction is consumed as melamine crystal or salts for flame retardant or moisture-resistant uses.

INEOS is also to sell its Paraform division, which makes sales of €60m/year and employs 120 people at its sole site in Mainz, in western Germany’s industrial heartlands. It has production capacity of 125,000 tonnes/year.

The business produces methanol derivatives like formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, hexamethylene tetramine, dimethoxymethane and alkali cyanates, chemicals used in a variety of end markets such as agrochemicals, coatings disinfectants, fuels, metals, textiles or paper, among others.

Prefere Resins is headquartered in Erkner, Germany. It operates production sites in Finland, Germany, the UK, France, Poland and Romania. It has a total production capacity of 350,000 tonnes/year and employs over 320 people.

“The acquisition of the Melamines and Paraform businesses from INEOS Enterprises … represents a key step towards our strategic plans to grow our business to become a global resin producer,” said Arno Knebelkamp, CEO of Prefere Resins.

Prefere is owned by Silverfleet, a private equity fund which focuses on European mid-market companies.

INEOS Enterprises is one of the company’s arms, comprising assets with sales of around €2bn, and it does not belong to INEOS Group Holdings, although it is also privately owned.

New York-headquartered investment bank specialist in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) within the chemical industry The Valence Group acted as advisor to INEOS for the transaction.