Ardian's Italmatch bolts on Afton's metalworking fluid unit

Alessia Argentieri
27 April 2018

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Ardian-backed Italmatch Chemicals, an Italian speciality chemicals company, has acquired lubricant and fuel additive specialist Afton's metalworking fluid business (MWF).

The deal comprises the acquisition of MWF's businesses and facilities based in Manchester, UK, and in Bedford Park, US, and its plants located in Hyderabad, India, and in China.

Following the acquisition, Italmatch plans to bolster its international expansion and consolidate its position in the industrial lubricants market.

This is the fifth bolt-on for Italmatch in the last year, after the acquisition of China-based Jiayou Chemical, a producer of phosphonate antiscalants, US peer Detrex Corporation, Brazilian speciality chemical distribution business Sudamfos do Brasil, and French company Magpie Polymers.

Ardian bought a majority stake in Italmatch in 2014 from Mandarin Capital Partners and the Malacalza family, while the company's senior management, including CEO Sergio Iorio, retained a 12% shareholding. The GP is planning to sell the company and has held early-stage talks with European private equity funds, including Cinven, as reported by Unquote in March.

Italmatch specialises in producing additives for water treatment, oil & gas, lubricants and plastics. It employs 750 staff and in 2017 generated revenues of €420m. It operates 14 manufacturing plants based in Europe, China, Japan and North America, and has subsidiaries in Belgium, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Poland, Singapore and the US.

Company
Afton's metalworking fluid business, which specialises in producing additives for removing, forming, protecting and treating metal, was previously known as Polartech, a UK-based company acquired by Afton in 2010. The deal comprised the acquisition of all physical assets of the Polartech business including headquarters, R&D and manufacturing facilities in the UK, as well as plants in India, China and the US. When it was bought by Afton, Polartech generated annual revenues of approximately $45m. Afton is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with facilities and operations around the world, and is a subsidiary of NYSE's listed NewMarket Corporation, which operates in the petroleum additives industry.

People
Italmatch Chemicals – Sergio Iorio (CEO); Maurizio Turci (CFO).