Cognis owners decide to sell shares to BASF
Cognis Holding Luxembourg S.à r.l., controlled by Permira Funds, GS Capital Partners and SV Life Sciences, signed a sale and purchase agreement to sell 100 percent of the shares in Cognis Holding GmbH to BASF SE on June 22.
The enterprise value is 3.1 billion euros. The transaction is subject to the usual closing conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to be formally completed at the latest by November 2010.
Since 2001, Cognis has been successfully transformed into a highly profitable specialty chemicals supplier focused on innovation-driven growth markets. Says Antonio Trius, Chief Executive Officer of Cognis: “Cognis has performed very well over the last years, and is well positioned in attractive growth markets. The transaction combines expertise and synergies in technologies, innovations and market know-how. This will allow the leveraging of business opportunities and provide a comprehensive range of products and solutions for customers. We also believe that Cognis’ excellent market position and clear focus on the trends wellness and sustainability, especially our green products, make a perfect strategic fit.”
About Cognis
Cognis is a worldwide supplier of specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients, with a particular focus on the areas of wellness and sustainability. The company employs about 5,500 people, and it operates production sites and service centers in 30 countries. Cognis has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and provides value adding solutions and products based on renewable raw materials. The company serves the food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Another main focus is on products for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, as well as agriculture and mining.
Cognis is currently owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and SV Life Sciences. In 2009, Cognis recorded sales of about 2.6 billion euros and an Adjusted EBITDA (operating result) of 364 million euros.