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Kiri Dyes raises funds for expansion by acquisition
F O C US consolidated into DIC’s accounts. Its pro forma annual sales revenue will be of the order of Yen 110 bn. Demand for printing inks in Japan has declined steadily since a peak in 2006. Because of the increasing prevalence of digital printing and the Internet and taking into account Japan’s declining birthrate, the forecast growth in Japanese consumption of printing inks is low. On the production side, both DIC and Inctec face rising raw material costs, reflecting rising prices for crude oil and naphtha. Inctec has a good reputation in Japan for newspaper inks and for sheet-fed offset inks. Merger of the two businesses is expected to result in cost savings, as well as facilitating the development of superior-quality, highly competitive new products and the realisation of a stable supply structure. In a separate move, DIC Corp and its US-based subsidiary Sun Chemical recently established a new worldwide company – Sunjet – specialising in inkjet pigments. This new company will provide partners and customers with a unified product range for graphics and industrial inkjet applications, leveraging on the two companies’ technical expertise in dispersions, pigments, polymers and formulation chemistry. Press Release from: DIC Corp, DIC Building, 7-20, Nihonbashi 3-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8233, Japan. Website: http://www.dic.co.jp (31 Jul 2009) & PPCJ, Polymers, Paint, Colour Journal, Aug 2009, 199 (4539), 4
Huntsman bids $415 M to buy Tronox TiO2 & other assets Tronox Inc (of Oklahoma City), one of the world’s top five suppliers of TiO2 pigments, filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors on 12 January 2009. This arrangement enabled the company to continue operating its plants, marketing its products, paying its suppliers and employees “in the normal way” but required management to seek approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for major financial decisions. In mid-March, Tronox Inc was obliged to relinquish control of its German assets because it could no longer finance the day-to-day cashflow needs of its subsidiary, Tronox Germany GmbH. The German company’s Court-appointed
OCTOBER 2009
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Administrator is currently trying to sell the 109,000 tonnes/y TiO2 pigment plant at Krefeld-Uerdingen. Effective 20 March, Tronox Inc laid-off many of the employees at its Savannah TiO2 plant, cutting capacity utilisation here to 15%. The plant was closed “until further notice” during the Summer. This left Tronox Inc with only two wholly-owned TiO2 plants still operating – a 225,000 tonnes/y plant at Hamilton, MS (in the US) and a 90,000 tonnes/y plant at RotterdamBotlek (in the Netherlands). Tronox also retains a 50% stake in the Tiwest joint venture, which operates a titanium and zirconium minerals mine, a synrutile plant and a 110,000 tonnes/y TiO2 pigment plant in Western Australia. The other 50% stake in Tiwest is owned by Exxaro Resources (of South Africa). On 12 May, Tronox filed a lawsuit against its former parent company (Kerr-McGee Corp) and that company’s new parent (Anadarko Petroleum) alleging fraudulent conveyancing and other actions harmful to the long-term viability of Tronox. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Sep 2009, 7). Although there is the prospect that Tronox will eventually receive payment from Anadarko, either as an out-of-Court settlement or in the form of compensatory damages awarded by the Court, the company may be obliged to wait for several years. The US Bankruptcy Court insisted that Tronox should take prompt action to sell off some of its assets in order to at least partially satisfy creditors’ claims. On 31 August, Tronox announced that it had signed a “stalking horse asset and equity purchase agreement” with Huntsman Pigments, another of the world’s top five TiO2 pigment companies. A “stalking horse bid” is described as a binding proposal for acquisition of a bankrupt company’s assets tabled by an interested buyer chosen by the bankrupt company and subject to being trumped by a higher offer through an auction process approved by the US Bankruptcy Court. Huntsman’s bid was $415 M, including working capital provision, to acquire the Botlek and Hamilton plants, the 50% stake in Tiwest and all Tronox’s whollyowned assets in manganese dioxide, sodium chlorate, boron trichloride, elemental boron and other “electrolytic facilities.” Huntsman’s
agreement to buy the Tronox “electrolytic facilities” at Henderson (Nevada) is conditional on Tronox securing certain consents from the Colorado River Commission and, if these are not forthcoming, then Huntsman reserves the right to exclude these facilities from the deal, with a corresponding $32.5 M reduction in its total bid offer. It was confirmed that Exxaro had agreed to waive contractual restrictions on the transfer of Tronox’s 50% stake to Huntsman, including its rights of first refusal to acquire that 50% stake in the event of a change of ownership of Tronox. The Uerdingen and Savannah pigment plants were specifically excluded from the Huntsman bid. During the week commencing 21 September, the US Bankruptcy Court approved the bidding procedures and granting certain benefits and bid protections to Huntsman in its role as stalking horse bidder, including a breakup fee of $12.45 M and reimbursement of Huntsman’s expenses up to $3 M in the event that Huntsman’s bid is trumped by a better offer at the auction. Huntsman and Tronox also confirmed that they had filed for US anti-trust approval in connection with the potential acquisition. Huntsman currently operates six wholly-owned TiO2 pigment plants, with a combined capacity of 490,000 tonnes/y. It also has a 50% stake in the 140,000-150,000 tonnes/y plant at Lake Charles, LA (in the US), the other 50% being owned by Kronos. Adding on the 315,000 tonnes/y of capacity at Hamilton and Botlek, plus the 50% stake in Tiwest’s 110,000 tonnes/y plant in Western Australia would result in Huntsman Pigments having a total global attributable capacity of 935,000 tonnes/y. That would represent just under 17% of current world TiO2 pigment capacity, putting Huntsman in second place after DuPont, which has a 21% share of global capacity. Press Releases from: Tronox, Oklahoma City, OK 731027109, USA (31 Aug 2009) & Huntsman Pigments, The Woodlands, TX, USA (31 Aug & 25 Sep 2009)
Kiri Dyes raises funds for expansion by acquisition The Board of Kiri Dyes & Chemicals (of Ahmedabad, Gujarat province) has decided to raise Rup 2.5 bn (about $50 M) to fund its plans to build new
5
FOCUS facilities for making dyes and intermediates in Gujarat province. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2008, 6). Kiri Dyes is also keen to expand its business by acquisitions, both in India and overseas. Business Line, 1 Sep 2009, 16 (242), 2
Merck acquires Taizhu, Chinese manufacturer of effect pigments Merck KGaA has acquired Suzhou Taizhu Technology Development Co Ltd, one of the biggest companies making effect pigments companies in China. Taizhu has 300 employees and reported total sales revenues at more than €14 M for full-year 2008. Its plant is located at Taicang, 40 km from Shanghai. Merck’s own chemicals subsidiary has been based in Shanghai since 1997. The value of the transaction was around €28 M. According to Merck, China will be second only to the US as the largest effect pigments market in the world in 2010, so the acquisition is seen as being of major strategic importance. Press Release from: Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Street 250, D-64293 Darmstadt, Germany. Website: http://www.merck.de (9 Sep 2009)
Novant appoints Northspec to sell pearlescent & iron oxide pigments Novant Chemicals (part of the Noble conglomerate, headquartered in Hong Kong) has appointed Northspec Chemicals Corp (of Toronto) as its exclusive distributor for the Canadian market in respect of its Sirius range of pearlescent pigments and for its entire range of iron oxide pigments, including the Ionix range of conventional synthetics, the Micronix range of micronised pigments, and the Trionix range of transparent iron oxides. Coatings World, Jul 2009, 14 (7), 58
Omnova buys Ropaque hollow-sphere pigment business from Dow Omnova Solutions (of Fairlawn, OH) has agreed to buy the Ropaque hollow-sphere pigment business from Dow Chemical, with closure of the transaction expected towards the end of this year. The value of the transaction was not revealed. The disposal of the Ropaque pigment business on or before 27 November
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2009 was one of the conditions imposed by the US anti-trust authorities for approval of Dow’s $18.8 bn acquisition of Rohm & Haas, effective 1 April 2009. Ropaque pigments were developed by Rohm & Haas during the 1980s and they were marketed as potential TiO2 substitutes in paint, paper and plastics. Omnova was hived off as a separate entity by GenCorp Inc (formerly General Tire & Rubber Corp) in 1999. It has established a reputation for developing emulsion polymers, speciality chemicals, and decorative and functional surfaces for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential end uses. Press Release from: Dow Chemical Co, 2030 Dow Center, Midland, MI 48674, USA. Website: http://www.dow.com (10 Sep 2009)
Paint Research Association becomes part of Pera Innovation Network The Paint Research Association (PRA) has been absorbed into the Pera Innovation Network (originally founded as the Production Engineering Research Association). Both the PRA and the PERA are UKbased organisations that were originally founded essentially as trade associations funded by member companies to collaborate on basic research, training and information management in their respective industries. The PRA was founded in 1926 and began extending its scope beyond the UK in 1977, when it first admitted nonUK companies as members. With Mr John Bernie as Managing Director between 1986 and 1999, the PRA embarked on organising international conferences on themes related to the paint industry. Thanks mainly to Ms Helma Jotischky (Technical Director), the PRA launched the monthly publication ‘Coatings Comet’ in 1993 and it extended its publications range in August 1999 with the acquisition (from Information Research Ltd) of another monthly publication ‘European Paint & Resin News’. Both publications are still running, with Dr Glenda Thisdell as the Managing Editor. The PRA also maintains a large database of technical abstracts and archived data on the paint industry, known as the World Surface Coatings Library. In 2005, the PRA moved its headquarters, technical
training centre and independent laboratory testing facilities from Teddington to Hampton, within easy reach of London Heathrow Airport. In 2006, Mr Jonathan Bourne became the sixth Managing Director of the PRA. The latest extension to the PRA’s services in the field of business information was the acquisition in July 2007 of Irfab Consultants. Founded in 1971 by Dr Franco Busato and based in Brussels, Irfab had established an excellent reputation for multi-client studies and proprietary consultancy work in various paint sectors, notably powder coatings. The PRA has traditionally been governed by representatives from its corporate members, which include manufacturers of paints, inks, raw materials and intermediates, as well as product distributors and end-users of paints and inks. PERA (headquartered at Melton Mowbray, near Leicester) describes itself as a “private sector company, working in the public interest, with a non-profit mission to improve the growth and competitiveness of industry and business in Europe.” This mission includes helping clients to obtain more effective skills development and greater access to global knowledge and markets. Pitture & Vernici, May 2009, 56
Rocky Mountains takes control of Tianzhu Tianyan Baryte Rocky Mountains Industry Development Co Ltd (of Shenzhen, Guangdong province) has acquired a 70% majority stake in Tianzhu Tianyan Baryte Corp Ltd. The latter company has been mining about 100,000 tonnes/y of barytes from its Tianzhu mine, near Bandong in southeastern Guizhou province, and it plans to step up production to 120,000 tonnes/y. Tianzhu Tianyan also opened a new barytes mine at Sanjiang in Guangxi province last year. Industrial Minerals, Sep 2009, (504), 12-13
LEGISLATION REACH for carbon black Carbon black has been formally registered by the European Chemicals
OCTOBER 2009
Huntsman bids $415 M to buy Tronox TiO2 & other assets Tronox Inc (of Oklahoma City), one of the world’s top five suppliers of TiO2 pigments, filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors on 12 January 2009. This arrangement enabled the company to continue operating its plants, marketing its products, paying its suppliers and employees “in the normal way” but required management to seek approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for major financial decisions. In mid-March, Tronox Inc was obliged to relinquish control of its German assets because it could no longer finance the day-to-day cashflow needs of its subsidiary, Tronox Germany GmbH. The German company’s Court-appointed
OCTOBER 2009
O N
PIGMENTS
Administrator is currently trying to sell the 109,000 tonnes/y TiO2 pigment plant at Krefeld-Uerdingen. Effective 20 March, Tronox Inc laid-off many of the employees at its Savannah TiO2 plant, cutting capacity utilisation here to 15%. The plant was closed “until further notice” during the Summer. This left Tronox Inc with only two wholly-owned TiO2 plants still operating – a 225,000 tonnes/y plant at Hamilton, MS (in the US) and a 90,000 tonnes/y plant at RotterdamBotlek (in the Netherlands). Tronox also retains a 50% stake in the Tiwest joint venture, which operates a titanium and zirconium minerals mine, a synrutile plant and a 110,000 tonnes/y TiO2 pigment plant in Western Australia. The other 50% stake in Tiwest is owned by Exxaro Resources (of South Africa). On 12 May, Tronox filed a lawsuit against its former parent company (Kerr-McGee Corp) and that company’s new parent (Anadarko Petroleum) alleging fraudulent conveyancing and other actions harmful to the long-term viability of Tronox. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Sep 2009, 7). Although there is the prospect that Tronox will eventually receive payment from Anadarko, either as an out-of-Court settlement or in the form of compensatory damages awarded by the Court, the company may be obliged to wait for several years. The US Bankruptcy Court insisted that Tronox should take prompt action to sell off some of its assets in order to at least partially satisfy creditors’ claims. On 31 August, Tronox announced that it had signed a “stalking horse asset and equity purchase agreement” with Huntsman Pigments, another of the world’s top five TiO2 pigment companies. A “stalking horse bid” is described as a binding proposal for acquisition of a bankrupt company’s assets tabled by an interested buyer chosen by the bankrupt company and subject to being trumped by a higher offer through an auction process approved by the US Bankruptcy Court. Huntsman’s bid was $415 M, including working capital provision, to acquire the Botlek and Hamilton plants, the 50% stake in Tiwest and all Tronox’s whollyowned assets in manganese dioxide, sodium chlorate, boron trichloride, elemental boron and other “electrolytic facilities.” Huntsman’s
agreement to buy the Tronox “electrolytic facilities” at Henderson (Nevada) is conditional on Tronox securing certain consents from the Colorado River Commission and, if these are not forthcoming, then Huntsman reserves the right to exclude these facilities from the deal, with a corresponding $32.5 M reduction in its total bid offer. It was confirmed that Exxaro had agreed to waive contractual restrictions on the transfer of Tronox’s 50% stake to Huntsman, including its rights of first refusal to acquire that 50% stake in the event of a change of ownership of Tronox. The Uerdingen and Savannah pigment plants were specifically excluded from the Huntsman bid. During the week commencing 21 September, the US Bankruptcy Court approved the bidding procedures and granting certain benefits and bid protections to Huntsman in its role as stalking horse bidder, including a breakup fee of $12.45 M and reimbursement of Huntsman’s expenses up to $3 M in the event that Huntsman’s bid is trumped by a better offer at the auction. Huntsman and Tronox also confirmed that they had filed for US anti-trust approval in connection with the potential acquisition. Huntsman currently operates six wholly-owned TiO2 pigment plants, with a combined capacity of 490,000 tonnes/y. It also has a 50% stake in the 140,000-150,000 tonnes/y plant at Lake Charles, LA (in the US), the other 50% being owned by Kronos. Adding on the 315,000 tonnes/y of capacity at Hamilton and Botlek, plus the 50% stake in Tiwest’s 110,000 tonnes/y plant in Western Australia would result in Huntsman Pigments having a total global attributable capacity of 935,000 tonnes/y. That would represent just under 17% of current world TiO2 pigment capacity, putting Huntsman in second place after DuPont, which has a 21% share of global capacity. Press Releases from: Tronox, Oklahoma City, OK 731027109, USA (31 Aug 2009) & Huntsman Pigments, The Woodlands, TX, USA (31 Aug & 25 Sep 2009)
Kiri Dyes raises funds for expansion by acquisition The Board of Kiri Dyes & Chemicals (of Ahmedabad, Gujarat province) has decided to raise Rup 2.5 bn (about $50 M) to fund its plans to build new
5
FOCUS facilities for making dyes and intermediates in Gujarat province. (See also ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2008, 6). Kiri Dyes is also keen to expand its business by acquisitions, both in India and overseas. Business Line, 1 Sep 2009, 16 (242), 2
Merck acquires Taizhu, Chinese manufacturer of effect pigments Merck KGaA has acquired Suzhou Taizhu Technology Development Co Ltd, one of the biggest companies making effect pigments companies in China. Taizhu has 300 employees and reported total sales revenues at more than €14 M for full-year 2008. Its plant is located at Taicang, 40 km from Shanghai. Merck’s own chemicals subsidiary has been based in Shanghai since 1997. The value of the transaction was around €28 M. According to Merck, China will be second only to the US as the largest effect pigments market in the world in 2010, so the acquisition is seen as being of major strategic importance. Press Release from: Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Street 250, D-64293 Darmstadt, Germany. Website: http://www.merck.de (9 Sep 2009)
Novant appoints Northspec to sell pearlescent & iron oxide pigments Novant Chemicals (part of the Noble conglomerate, headquartered in Hong Kong) has appointed Northspec Chemicals Corp (of Toronto) as its exclusive distributor for the Canadian market in respect of its Sirius range of pearlescent pigments and for its entire range of iron oxide pigments, including the Ionix range of conventional synthetics, the Micronix range of micronised pigments, and the Trionix range of transparent iron oxides. Coatings World, Jul 2009, 14 (7), 58
Omnova buys Ropaque hollow-sphere pigment business from Dow Omnova Solutions (of Fairlawn, OH) has agreed to buy the Ropaque hollow-sphere pigment business from Dow Chemical, with closure of the transaction expected towards the end of this year. The value of the transaction was not revealed. The disposal of the Ropaque pigment business on or before 27 November
6
ON
PIGMENTS
2009 was one of the conditions imposed by the US anti-trust authorities for approval of Dow’s $18.8 bn acquisition of Rohm & Haas, effective 1 April 2009. Ropaque pigments were developed by Rohm & Haas during the 1980s and they were marketed as potential TiO2 substitutes in paint, paper and plastics. Omnova was hived off as a separate entity by GenCorp Inc (formerly General Tire & Rubber Corp) in 1999. It has established a reputation for developing emulsion polymers, speciality chemicals, and decorative and functional surfaces for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential end uses. Press Release from: Dow Chemical Co, 2030 Dow Center, Midland, MI 48674, USA. Website: http://www.dow.com (10 Sep 2009)
Paint Research Association becomes part of Pera Innovation Network The Paint Research Association (PRA) has been absorbed into the Pera Innovation Network (originally founded as the Production Engineering Research Association). Both the PRA and the PERA are UKbased organisations that were originally founded essentially as trade associations funded by member companies to collaborate on basic research, training and information management in their respective industries. The PRA was founded in 1926 and began extending its scope beyond the UK in 1977, when it first admitted nonUK companies as members. With Mr John Bernie as Managing Director between 1986 and 1999, the PRA embarked on organising international conferences on themes related to the paint industry. Thanks mainly to Ms Helma Jotischky (Technical Director), the PRA launched the monthly publication ‘Coatings Comet’ in 1993 and it extended its publications range in August 1999 with the acquisition (from Information Research Ltd) of another monthly publication ‘European Paint & Resin News’. Both publications are still running, with Dr Glenda Thisdell as the Managing Editor. The PRA also maintains a large database of technical abstracts and archived data on the paint industry, known as the World Surface Coatings Library. In 2005, the PRA moved its headquarters, technical
training centre and independent laboratory testing facilities from Teddington to Hampton, within easy reach of London Heathrow Airport. In 2006, Mr Jonathan Bourne became the sixth Managing Director of the PRA. The latest extension to the PRA’s services in the field of business information was the acquisition in July 2007 of Irfab Consultants. Founded in 1971 by Dr Franco Busato and based in Brussels, Irfab had established an excellent reputation for multi-client studies and proprietary consultancy work in various paint sectors, notably powder coatings. The PRA has traditionally been governed by representatives from its corporate members, which include manufacturers of paints, inks, raw materials and intermediates, as well as product distributors and end-users of paints and inks. PERA (headquartered at Melton Mowbray, near Leicester) describes itself as a “private sector company, working in the public interest, with a non-profit mission to improve the growth and competitiveness of industry and business in Europe.” This mission includes helping clients to obtain more effective skills development and greater access to global knowledge and markets. Pitture & Vernici, May 2009, 56
Rocky Mountains takes control of Tianzhu Tianyan Baryte Rocky Mountains Industry Development Co Ltd (of Shenzhen, Guangdong province) has acquired a 70% majority stake in Tianzhu Tianyan Baryte Corp Ltd. The latter company has been mining about 100,000 tonnes/y of barytes from its Tianzhu mine, near Bandong in southeastern Guizhou province, and it plans to step up production to 120,000 tonnes/y. Tianzhu Tianyan also opened a new barytes mine at Sanjiang in Guangxi province last year. Industrial Minerals, Sep 2009, (504), 12-13
LEGISLATION REACH for carbon black Carbon black has been formally registered by the European Chemicals
OCTOBER 2009