Advent exits Vinnolit in €490m trade sale

According to Westlake, the transaction multiple is approximately 6x Vinnolit's 2013 EBITDA.

During Advent's period of ownership, Vinnolit completed a series of acquisitions, including a deal to acquire the Ineos Paste PVC business, increasing the company's production capacity. It also converted its chlor-alkali-electrolysis plant to membrane technology, increasing energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. Approximately €1bn was invested in modernising and expanding its European production and furthering research and development.

According to Ranjan Sen at Advent, Vinnolit was a standard PVC manufacturer at the time of Advent's initial acquisition. This market saw limited revenues, leading Advent to transform the company into a specialist PVC manufacturer. The company now records 80% of its turnover from speciality products. Advent chose to divest the company from its portfolio after 14 years of ownership because the transformation process of Vinnolit is now complete.

The management team at Vinnolit has remained the same throughout Advent's ownership.

Advent was in discussions with several potential buyers for a period of up to two years, before choosing to sell to Westlake. The buyer is active in the US and Asian markets, which is where Vinnolit intends to expand.

Transaction services related to the deal were conducted in-house.

Westlake is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, PVC resin and PVC building products.

Previous funding
According to unquote" data, Advent acquired Vinnolit from Celanese and Wacker-Chemie in July 2000 for an undisclosed sum. Its third Global Private Equity Fund, a €800m vehicle closed in 1997, was used to fund the transaction.

A debt facility was provided by Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and IKB Industriebank.

In April 2007, Advent completed a €495m refinancing of the company, with Dresdner Kleinwort acting as sole bookrunner to arrange senior debt facilities. The refinancing was driven by Vinnolit's recent outperformance.

Company
Headquartered in Munich, Vinnolit is a manufacturer of speciality PVC. Six production sites are located across Germany and in the UK. In 2013, the company generated revenues of €917m.

Founded in 1993, Vinnolit employs 1,400 people and produces and markets PVC products covering all kinds of PVC applications for the building & construction sector, the automotive industry and the medical sector.

People
Albert Chao is president and CEO of Westlake. Josef Ertl is managing director of Vinnolit. Ranjan Sen is general manager at Advent.

Advisers
Buyer - Freshfields (Legal); Deloitte (Corporate finance).

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