Westlake Chemical Corp. (Houston; www.westlake.com) has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Germany-based Vinnolit Holdings GmbH and its subsidiary companies from Advent International, a private equity firm. Vinnolit is an integrated global leader in specialty polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins. The acquisition price of €490 million will be financed using existing Westlake cash and credit facilities. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014, subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory review.
Vinnolit has six production facilities located in Gendorf, Burghausen, Cologne, Knapsack and Schkopau in Germany and Hillhouse in the U.K. These operations have a combined production capacity of 780,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr) of PVC, including specialty paste and suspension grades, 665,000 m.t./yr of vinyl chloride monomer ("VCM") and 475,000 m.t./yr of membrane-grade caustic soda. Vinnolit has a research and development facility in Gendorf and applications laboratory in Burghausen. Vinnolit’s products are suitable for a wide range of industrial and building product applications including automotive sealants, cable sheathing, flooring, medical applications, pipes, rigid film, technical coatings, wall covering and window profiles.
Vinnolit’s headquarters are located in Ismaning, Germany, outside of Munich. The company generated €917 million of revenue in 2013 and employs approximately 1,400 employees.