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Merck cuts pigment production, but boosts UV absorbers & pays higher dividends despite Government advice
F O C US $17 bn. The combination of the two sets of activities is expected to result in synergy savings worth $1.3 bn per annum. Dow is planning to raise $4 bn as a result of asset sales. In addition to the divestments ordered by the US antitrust authority, assets identified for sale include: the Morton Salt business inherited from Rohm & Haas; the 45% stake in a Dutch oil refining venture (the other 55% being owned by the Total group of France); and equity shareholdings in various olefins joint ventures in Southeast Asia. Dow also plans to reduce its workforce by another 3500, most of the burden of which will fall on the former Rohm & Haas activities. Dow’s programme to eliminate 5000 jobs, announced last December, is already well underway. Rohm & Haas announced last June that it would be eliminating 925 jobs and it announced a further 900 job losses towards the end of January 2009. At the end of April 2009, Dow surprised a number of analysts with its declaration of a net post-tax profit of $24 M, instead of a loss of up to $160 M, for 1Q 2009. Sales revenues were $9.09 bn, compared against $14.8 bn in 1Q 2008. Mr Andrew Liveris (CEO) commented: “Our positive earnings in this recessionary environment were the direct result of our rapid actions to reduce costs and tightly manage our operations.” Press Releases from: Dow Chemical, Midland, MI 48642, USA. Website: http://www.dow.com (1, 9 & 30 Apr 2009) & Chemical Week, 9 Feb & 23 Mar 2009 (Website: http://www.chemweek.com) & ICIS Chemical Business, 9 Feb & 16 Mar 2009 (Website: http://icischemicalbusiness.com)
Merck cuts pigment production, but boosts UV absorbers & pays higher dividends despite Government advice Merck KgaA (headquartered at Darmstadt, Germany) has announced short-time working for 500 workers at its Gernsheim speciality effect pigments plant (40 km north of Mannheim, Germany). Production cutbacks will also be implemented at the company’s pigment plants at Onahama (Japan) and Songjiang (China). At the same time, Merck has substantially increased its capacity for making an encapsulated ultraviolet absorber at its Darmstadt plant (40
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km south of Frankfurt). Marketed as Eusolex UV-Pearls, this product is essentially ethyl hexyl methoxycinnamate, encapsulated in sol-gel silica beads. It is increasingly used for formulating cosmetics, doubling the in vivo sun-protection factor. Merck declared net post-tax profit for full-year 2008 at €180 M and it defied the German Government’s call for all companies to abstain from paying shareholder dividends during the current economic and financial crisis. Merck paid dividends at €1.50 per share for 2008, compared against €1.20 per share (plus a €2.00 per share bonus) for the previous year. Chemical Week, 19 Apr 2009 (Website: http://www.chemweek.com) & European Coating News, 13 & 27 Apr 2009 (Vincentz Network, PO Box 6247, 30062 Hannover, Germany. Website: http://www.european-coatings.com)
Nippon Kayaku moves colorant export HQ from Tokyo to Shanghai Nippon Kayaku’s Colour Chemicals division plans to move its export sales headquarters from Tokyo to Shanghai (China) in June 2009. With this move, Nippon Kayaku hopes to increase its penetration of the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. The company is the leading Japanese manufacturer of dyes for the textile and paper industries, but 40% of its total sales revenue from dyes now comes from the Chinese market. Within China, Nippon Kayaku has two important manufacturing subsidiaries – Wuxi Advanced Kayaku Chemical and Zhaoyuan Advanced Chemical. Nippon Kayaku is also a major producer of colorants for inkjet printers. Within Japan, its major colorants plants are in the Tokyo region and at Fukuyama (near Hiroshima). As well as colorants, Nippon Kayaku produces: catalysts, electronic chemicals, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and safety systems. For the year to end-May 2008, it reported net income at Yen 6.7 bn on sales of Yen 145 bn. Japan Chemical Week, 19 Mar 2009, 50 (2507), 8-9
Fourth new owner in less than 18 months for US Silica Golden Gate Capital (of San Francisco) has acquired the entire assets and business of US Silica Co
from Harbinger Capital Partners, with the latter receiving net proceeds of $313 M, after transaction expenses. US Silica operates a kaolin mine and a calcining facility at Kosse (Texas). It also runs a silica mine here, as well as at 12 other locations in the central and eastern regions of the US. For Harbinger, this represents the sale of one its last remaining industrial mineral assets, following the sale of Kings Mountain Minerals and Suzorite Mica to Imerys last October and the sale of General Chemical Soda Ash Partners to the Tata group in February 2008. Mr David Maura (Vice President of Harbinger) said: “Monetising US Silica for a gain in this economic climate and in the current financing environment is a testament to the quality of this asset.” Attapulgite Mining Inc (part of the Zemex group, controlled by Harbinger) is also expected to be divested soon. US Silica (of Berkeley Springs, CA) has been the subject of several ownership transfers in recent years. CCMP Capital (of New York) had acquired the company in 1996 and then tried to expand the product line by purchasing several family-owned building aggregate and roadstone companies in Pennsylvania. The company name was changed to Better Minerals & Aggregates Inc. Having failed to realise the promised synergies, CCMP sold the aggregates business to the Hanson group in 2003, but retained ownership of the silica and kaolin business. The name US Silica was restored. In August 2007, CCMP sold US Silica to Harvest Partners (of New York) for $200 M. After injecting $40-50 M of equity capital, Harvest Partners sold the company on to Harbinger for nearly $300 M in October 2007, thus realising a profit of about $50 M for 70 days of ownership. Harbinger had imagined that it could achieve synergies thanks to subsidiaries selling silica and soda ash to the same customer base in the glass industry, but again the anticipated synergies were never fully realised. Meanwhile, US Silica still has significant contingent liabilities – though far fewer than in the 1990s – as a result of lawsuits filed by former employees and others suffering with silicosis. Industrial Minerals, Jan 2009, (496), 10
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Merck cuts pigment production, but boosts UV absorbers & pays higher dividends despite Government advice Merck KgaA (headquartered at Darmstadt, Germany) has announced short-time working for 500 workers at its Gernsheim speciality effect pigments plant (40 km north of Mannheim, Germany). Production cutbacks will also be implemented at the company’s pigment plants at Onahama (Japan) and Songjiang (China). At the same time, Merck has substantially increased its capacity for making an encapsulated ultraviolet absorber at its Darmstadt plant (40
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km south of Frankfurt). Marketed as Eusolex UV-Pearls, this product is essentially ethyl hexyl methoxycinnamate, encapsulated in sol-gel silica beads. It is increasingly used for formulating cosmetics, doubling the in vivo sun-protection factor. Merck declared net post-tax profit for full-year 2008 at €180 M and it defied the German Government’s call for all companies to abstain from paying shareholder dividends during the current economic and financial crisis. Merck paid dividends at €1.50 per share for 2008, compared against €1.20 per share (plus a €2.00 per share bonus) for the previous year. Chemical Week, 19 Apr 2009 (Website: http://www.chemweek.com) & European Coating News, 13 & 27 Apr 2009 (Vincentz Network, PO Box 6247, 30062 Hannover, Germany. Website: http://www.european-coatings.com)
Nippon Kayaku moves colorant export HQ from Tokyo to Shanghai Nippon Kayaku’s Colour Chemicals division plans to move its export sales headquarters from Tokyo to Shanghai (China) in June 2009. With this move, Nippon Kayaku hopes to increase its penetration of the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. The company is the leading Japanese manufacturer of dyes for the textile and paper industries, but 40% of its total sales revenue from dyes now comes from the Chinese market. Within China, Nippon Kayaku has two important manufacturing subsidiaries – Wuxi Advanced Kayaku Chemical and Zhaoyuan Advanced Chemical. Nippon Kayaku is also a major producer of colorants for inkjet printers. Within Japan, its major colorants plants are in the Tokyo region and at Fukuyama (near Hiroshima). As well as colorants, Nippon Kayaku produces: catalysts, electronic chemicals, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and safety systems. For the year to end-May 2008, it reported net income at Yen 6.7 bn on sales of Yen 145 bn. Japan Chemical Week, 19 Mar 2009, 50 (2507), 8-9
Fourth new owner in less than 18 months for US Silica Golden Gate Capital (of San Francisco) has acquired the entire assets and business of US Silica Co
from Harbinger Capital Partners, with the latter receiving net proceeds of $313 M, after transaction expenses. US Silica operates a kaolin mine and a calcining facility at Kosse (Texas). It also runs a silica mine here, as well as at 12 other locations in the central and eastern regions of the US. For Harbinger, this represents the sale of one its last remaining industrial mineral assets, following the sale of Kings Mountain Minerals and Suzorite Mica to Imerys last October and the sale of General Chemical Soda Ash Partners to the Tata group in February 2008. Mr David Maura (Vice President of Harbinger) said: “Monetising US Silica for a gain in this economic climate and in the current financing environment is a testament to the quality of this asset.” Attapulgite Mining Inc (part of the Zemex group, controlled by Harbinger) is also expected to be divested soon. US Silica (of Berkeley Springs, CA) has been the subject of several ownership transfers in recent years. CCMP Capital (of New York) had acquired the company in 1996 and then tried to expand the product line by purchasing several family-owned building aggregate and roadstone companies in Pennsylvania. The company name was changed to Better Minerals & Aggregates Inc. Having failed to realise the promised synergies, CCMP sold the aggregates business to the Hanson group in 2003, but retained ownership of the silica and kaolin business. The name US Silica was restored. In August 2007, CCMP sold US Silica to Harvest Partners (of New York) for $200 M. After injecting $40-50 M of equity capital, Harvest Partners sold the company on to Harbinger for nearly $300 M in October 2007, thus realising a profit of about $50 M for 70 days of ownership. Harbinger had imagined that it could achieve synergies thanks to subsidiaries selling silica and soda ash to the same customer base in the glass industry, but again the anticipated synergies were never fully realised. Meanwhile, US Silica still has significant contingent liabilities – though far fewer than in the 1990s – as a result of lawsuits filed by former employees and others suffering with silicosis. Industrial Minerals, Jan 2009, (496), 10
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