H.I.G. Further Invests in Chemical Sector with Acquisition of Petrochem CarlessTransaction creates a leading European player in hydrocarbon specialities
LONDON – 16 April 2013 – H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, today announced that its portfolio company Haltermann Holding GmbH (“Haltermann”) has acquired Petrochem Carless Holdings Ltd (“PCL”), a leading UK-based refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals with 2012 revenues of over £350m.
PCL has developed a strong reputation in refining niche hydrocarbon streams which it takes in as the condensate by-product from North Sea oil and gas producers as well as from other global suppliers. Its products are used in industries as diverse as downstream chemicals, agrochemicals, oil and gas, consumer goods, printing, and automotive. It has established itself as a pivotal and trusted supplier into these industries and has grown substantially during the past years.
Haltermann is a German based producer of specialty hydrocarbons with a particular focus on pentanes, high purity hydrocarbons and test and reference fuels. Together, Haltermann and PCL will form a significant player in the European hydrocarbon speciality landscape.
Following the acquisition, Haltermann Holding will be renamed H•C•S Group (“HCS”) and will serve as the Holding company of PCL and Haltermann. For 2012, HCS had sales of approximately €650m and operates out of four state-of-the-art production sites in the UK and Germany. Customers will benefit from the highly synergistic transaction through increased supply chain security, wider product offerings and stronger support for global partnerships. As a larger pan European speciality oil and chemicals group, HCS will target organic growth in the wider global chemicals marketplace.
Paul Canning, Managing Director at H.I.G. Europe, commented: “With this milestone follow-on investment, H.I.G. Europe brings together two strong players in the European speciality hydrocarbon landscape. It is our goal to ensure that both companies continue their growth trajectory. This investment underlines H.I.G.’s investment strategy which focuses on supporting its portfolio companies to drive significant value creation through various growth and efficiency improvement initiatives.”
Dr. Johannes Natterer, Director at H.I.G. Europe, said: “PCL and Haltermann are an almost perfect fit. With their common technology and raw material markets, and yet complementary sales patterns with regard to products and regions, they together will have a significantly enlarged product offering and regional coverage which we intend to leverage to generate strong growth and better serve our customers.”
Dr. Uwe Nickel, CEO of H•C•S Group, said: “This is a strong sign of trust from H.I.G. Europe in our development and in the growth prospects of the combined group. HCS aims to be a global partner for its customers. In building a true European player, we will use the best practices from both companies. The management teams and I are excited about the opportunities that this transaction offers to our companies.”
The acquisition of PCL is a follow-on investment for Haltermann which H.I.G. Europe acquired from Dow Chemical in July 2011. The H.I.G. deal team for this acquisition consisted of Paul Canning, Wolfgang Biedermann, Johannes Natterer, Alastair Mills, and Amer Khatoun.
About Petrochem Carless Holdings Limited
The company was founded in 1859 as Carless and quickly won its place in history by developing a new volatile substance which it sold under the name “petrol”. Today, PCL is a speciality oil and chemicals company running a specialist refinery in Harwich (UK) and blending sites in Gunness (UK) and Ghent (Belgium). PCL supplies condensate products like naphtha, kerosene and white spirit, it produces aromatic solvents, drilling fluids, process oils, performance fuels as well as antifreeze and brakefluid products. Its products find use in industries as diverse as downstream chemicals, agrochemicals, oil and gas, consumer goods, printing, and automotive. PCL enjoys longstanding and trusted relationships with global blue chip customers. www.petrochemcarless.com
About Haltermann
The company was founded more than 100 years ago as Johann Haltermann Mineralöl AG in the harbour of Hamburg. Today, Haltermann is one of the leading providers of specialty refinery products for use in the automotive, pharmaceutical, cosmetic as well as in the printing, laboratory chemicals and electronics industry and in plastics processing. Haltermann is a long-established brand for test and specialty fuels for the automotive industry, specialty hydrocarbons for use in pharmaceuticals and electronics and high-purity pentanes that are used as blowing agents for the production of polyurethane foams. Haltermann enjoys long and mutually successful customer relationships with leaders in their respective industries. Haltermann operates from two state-of-the-art production sites with excellent logistics in Speyer and Hamburg, Germany. www.haltermann.com
About H.I.G. Capital
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with more than €9 billion of equity capital under management and a team of more than 250 investment professionals. Based in Miami, and with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, H.I.G. specialises in providing capital to small and medium-sized companies with attractive growth potential. H.I.G. invests in management-led buyouts and recapitalizations of profitable and well managed businesses. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. invested in and managed more than 200 companies worldwide. The firm’s current portfolio includes more than 80 companies with combined revenues in excess of €22 billion. www.higeurope.com