MOSCOW (MRC) -- Evonik Industries AG has carved out its methyl methacrylates (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) business with the €3bn sale of the unit to US private equity firm Advent International, said Plasticsnewseurope.
Named after Otto Rohm, Evonik's founding member and the founder methacrylate chemistry, Rohm GmbH will represent “quality and a pioneering spirit,” said the newly appointed chief executive Michael Pack in a 1 Aug statement. Now owned by Advent International, Rohm GmbH has average annual sales of EUR1.9bn and EBITDA of about EUR350m.
The company employs 3,900 people across 15 production sites in Germany (Worms, Darmstadt, Weiterstadt, Wesseling, Hanau), China, the US, Russia, and South Africa. “It is our goal to keep driving the growth of our business and to further strengthen leading market positions through investments and targeted expansion,” said Pack.
Advent has also revealed plans to further invest in technologies and Rohm production sites. “We see great potential to establish Rohm as a global market and technology leader in methacrylate chemicals,” said Ronald Ayles, managing partner and global head of chemicals at Advent International. “In partnership with the management and employees, we will continue to develop Rohm through investments and expansion.”
Rohm has a comprehensive product portfolio of products for a wide range of applications in the automotive, electronics, and construction industries. The company’s Plexiglas-branded PMMAs are used in cars, airplane windows, screens & displays or as building glazing.
In addition to being used as PMMA precursors, Rohm’s MMAs are also used in the production of varnishes & paints, floor coatings, adhesives, and other materials. Evonik started the carve-out activities in July last year.
In spite of its sales of roughly €1.9bn, Evonik defined the business as “outside the company's growth area.”
In an interview with PNE last October, Ralf Duessel, general manager high-performance polymers, said the decision was made due to the business’s cyclical nature, its cash-intensiveness as well as the fact that MMAs are standard chemicals, as opposed to specialty chemicals.