MOSCOW (MRC) -- KraussMaffei Group, a major global plastics machinery company, will soon have a new owner: state-owned China National Chemical Corp., said Plasticsnews.
KM, ChemChina and Onex Corp., the Toronto-based private equity firm that has owned KM since 2012, announced the deal Jan. 10. ChemChina highlighted that this is single largest investment that a Chinese company has ever made in Germany.
In their announcements, both ChemChina and KM CEO Frank Stieler described the prospective new owner as a long-term investor — a contrast from KM’s last two private equity ownership groups. KM will continue to operate in its current corporate structure, and will remain in Munich, he said.
ChemChina, a state-owned-enterprise, said its existing machinery subsidiary — China National Chemical Equipment Co. Ltd. — and KraussMaffei have complementary product portfolios and markets. In addition, they are strategically and organizationally aligned with compatible management and cultures, allowing for significant synergies.
ChemChina claims to be China’s largest exporter of rubber machinery.
ChemChina Chairman Ren said the company is investing in KM’s strong management team and technological expertise. In China, the company will benefit from a trend toward processors buying higher quality and more efficient plastics machinery.
As a result of the transaction, KM will "accelerate its planned expansion in China," the companies said in the release, adding that the company’s operating and corporate responsibility "will stay in Europe." The company plans to increase its employment in Germany in 2016.
As MRC informed earlier, China National Chemical (ChemChina) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rosneft to acquire a majority stake in Far-East Petrochemical Company (FEPCO) project in Nakhodka, Russia.
KM currently has 4,500 employees globally, including 2,800 are based in Germany. KM has been headquartered in Munich since 1838.
ChemChina is China’s largest chemicals group, with sales of 37 billion euros and 140,000 employees. The company ranks 265th on the Fortune 500 list, and No. 9 in global chemicals.
ChemChina’s publicly listed subsidiary Tianhua Institute of Chemical Machinery and Automation said in a filing that KraussMaffei’s business has a certain competitive relationship with its plastics processing technology business — extrusion and reaction molding. Tianhua said ChemChina will follow the non-competition agreement that was previously reached to handle the issue.
MRC