Homburger advises Clariant on the divestment of its Pigments business to a consortium of Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners
On June 14, 2021, Clariant announced that it has reached an agreement for the divestment of its Pigments business to a consortium of Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners. At the time of closing of the transaction, Clariant will reinvest to become a 20% shareholder alongside Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners in the ultimate holding company (holding the combined Clariant-Heubach Pigments business) at an enterprise value of CHF 805 m to CHF 855 m on a cash and debt free basis, depending on an earn-out payment of CHF 50 m contingent on the 2021 financial performance of Clariant’s Pigments business. The combined business will be a global pigments player with approximately 3,000 employees generating more than EUR 900 m in annual sales and strong service and production capabilities across the globe.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions. Once completed, Clariant will have finalized its intended divestments as part of its portfolio upgrade, having previously divested its Healthcare Packaging and Masterbatches businesses. The Pigments divestment concludes Clariant’s transformation into a high value specialty chemical company with above-market growth, higher profitability, and stronger cash generation.
Homburger acts as global lead counsel to Clariant. The Homburger team is led by partners Frank Gerhard and Daniel Hasler and comprises lead associate Stefan Blunschi, associates Carlo Sulser, Marc Schamaun, Nicola Togni, junior associates Lars Göldi, Rafael Winter, Severin Egloff, Luzius Kaufmann and Urs Stürmer (all Corporate / M&A), partners Marcel Dietrich, Richard Stäuber, counsel Andreas Burger, associates Allegra Arnold, Jonas Krull and Katharina Bratvogel (all Competition), partner Reto Heuberger, associates Marc Vogelsang and Arbnor Sheholli (all Tax), partner Gregor Bühler and associates Philippe Baumann and Daniel Lütolf (all IP / IT) as well as partner Jürg Frick (Financing and Investment Products).