PolyOne Corp. (Cleveland, Ohio) has completed its purchase of the color masterbatch businesses of Clariant and Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. PolyOne also announced that it has changed its name and will now be called Avient Corp.
“We proudly welcome our newest associates and valued customers from Clariant Masterbatch. They are joining us on Day 1 of this new era for our company, which as of today will be named Avient,” said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avient.
Mr. Patterson continued, “Under this new brand, we bring two global leaders together to create a specialty company focused on sustainable solutions for our customers, being a Great Place to Work for our associates, and creating value for all stakeholders.”
The entry into the agreement to acquire the Clariant Masterbatch business was originally announced in December 2019. The Clariant Masterbatch business includes 46 manufacturing operations and technology centers in 29 countries and approximately 3,500 employees, who will join Avient’s Color, Additives and Inks segment.
The combined net purchase price is $1.44 billion (see Attachment 1), representing a 10.8x multiple of 2019 adjusted EBITDA, or 7.5x including anticipated synergies.
“With this acquisition, Avient now expects over 85% of adjusted EBITDA to be generated from specialty applications,” said Mr. Patterson. “This is up from less than 10% when our specialty journey began over a decade ago. While we honor the legacies of our past organizations, under our new name Avient, we come together and look to the future as a world-class sustainable organization.”
Mr. Patterson concluded, “These endeavors are made possible by the joining of our businesses. We are better together.”
In conjunction with its rebranding and new name, the company’s ticker symbol will change from “POL” to “AVNT,” effective at the start of trading on July 13, 2020. As of that date, the “POL” trading symbol will no longer be active.