Silverfleet puts Prefere Resins sale in motion

Ryan Gould
20 October 2021

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Silverfleet, the private equity owner of Germany’s Prefere Resins, has appointed Houlihan Lokey to prepare a sale process that could kick off before year-end, according to several sources familiar with the matter.

Silverfleet awarded the mandate to the US investment bank following a competitive beauty parade that also involved Jefferies and Lazard in recent weeks, according to the sources.

A process to sell Prefere – a European market leader in the production and sale of phenolic and amino resins – could launch with the circulation of a teaser towards the end of the quarter, one of the sources said.

However, no final decision has been made on the timing of a process, which may extend to January next year, he added.

Prefere is expected to be marketed off EBITDA in the region of EUR 40m on sales of approximately EUR 400m, the sources said. Any auction process is likely to be dominated by financial sponsors, which are already in the process of taking a first look at the asset, one of them said.

While there is unlikely to be much appetite from standalone strategics in the business, some private-equity-backed trade players such as US-based Arclin – acquired by The Jordan Company in August – could express interest, one of the sources noted.

The move by Silverfleet to sell the business comes amid a wave of consolidation among resins and composites players.

In July, buyout group Lone Star acquired Netherlands-headquartered AOC from CVC, while Investindustrial sold its stake in Italy's Polynt-Reichhold to investment partner Black Diamond Capital Management for EUR 1.3bn. A sale of Georgia-Pacific's wood adhesives arm is said to be ongoing under sellside adviser Jefferies. Some USD 64bn has been spent on speciality chemicals targets since the beginning of 2020, according to Dealogic data.

Silverfleet acquired a majority stake in Prefere Resins for an undisclosed sum in May 2018. Goetzpartners and Investec advised Silverfleet on the deal.

A representative for Silverfleet declined to comment. Prefere Resins, Houlihan Lokey, Jefferies and Lazard did not respond to requests for comment.