Kemin & DSM collaboration extended from lutein to zeaxanthin

F O C US acquired at €525 M. Imerys will pay €311 M as cash, with the balance of €214 M payable as Imerys shares issued on a pre-emptive basis exclusively to members of the Kyriacopoulos family. In addition, Imerys has agreed to the payment of a further amount to the current owners of S&B Industrial Minerals as a profit-related bonus, which would not exceed €33 M. Imerys will also assume the appropriate proportion of S&B Industrial Minerals’ net outstanding debt, which amounted to €235 M, as at end-June 2014. Subject to receiving the relevant anti-trust approvals, the acquisition should be completed before the end of March 2015. On completion of the deal, the Kyriacopoulos family will hold a 4.4% equity stake in Imerys. Including the inherited S&B Industrial Minerals’ debt, Imerys will retain a very robust financial structure, with a debt/equity ratio of less than 60%. S&B Industrial Minerals was founded in 1934 as the Silver & Barytes Ore Mining Co, with its activities centred on the island of Milos (185 km south of Athens). The company took a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange in 1994, but the family retained financial control. The company changed its name in 2003. In June 2013, S&B Industrial Minerals became a private company, owned 61% by members of the Kyriacopoluos family and 39% by Rhône Capital. S&B Minerals Finance (headquartered in Luxembourg) was set up as the ultimate holding company. Thanks to organic growth and several important acquisitions, notably of Otavi Minen (1994), the Stollberg group (2004) and Nyco Minerals (2012), S&B Industrial Minerals has become a significant multinational in the industrial minerals sector, with mining and associated activities in 22 different countries, employing 1900 people. It is the the world’s leading supplier of wollastonite, a functional filler for paints and plastics with the unique characteristic of a very high aspect ratio. As such, wollastonite is also widely used as a substitute material for asbestos. S&B Industrial Minerals is also a major global producer of bentonite and perlite. It is also the world’s largest supplier of continuous casting fluxes for the steel industry. For the six months to endJANUARY 2015

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June 2014, the non-bauxite activities of S&B Industrial Minerals generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at about €40 M on sales revenues of about €207 M. Mr Gilles Michel (Chairman & CEO of Imerys) commented: “This transaction represents a major milestone in our development strategy. The enrichment of the potential for innovation and the acceleration of the international deployment, based on the complementarity of our two companies, will be growth-drivers that will create value for our shareholders and I would be glad to welcome a representative of the Kyriacopoulos family on to the Imerys Board of Directors.” That representative will presumably be Mr Ulysses Kyriacopoulos (Chairman of S&B). Original Source: Imerys, Rue de l’Université, 75007 Paris, France, website: http://www.imerys.com (5 Nov 2014) © Imerys 2014. Original Source: S&B Minerals Finance SCA, 6 rue Jean Monnet, L-2180 Luxembourg, website: http://www.sandb.com (5 Nov 2014) © S&B Minerals Finance 2014

lutein pigment from marigold plant extracts, using a patented process. (See ‘Focus on Pigments’, Mar 2008, 5). Kemin also produces synthetic zeaxanthin using marigold plant extracts. This product is marketed under the brandname Zea-ONE. DSM Nutritional Products buys Zea-ONE and refines it to make its Optisharp Natural pigment and nutritional supplement. Under the agreement signed in September 2014, DSM will serve as Kemin’s sole worldwide sales agent for Zea-ONE for use in human nutrition. Kemin will act as DSM’s exclusive supplier of naturally-sourced crystalline zeaxanthin. DSM will also invest in high-performance product form innovations for dietary supplement and food applications. The zeaxanthin ingredients will be marketed under DSM’s Optisharp Natural brandname. Original Source: Royal DSM, Het Overloon, 6411 TE Heerlen, Netherlands, website: http://www.dsm.com (1 Oct 2014) © Koninklijke DSM NV 2014

Omya is Clariant’s exclusive distributor for aluminium dyes & chemicals Kemin & DSM collaboration extended from lutein to zeaxanthin Kemin (of Des Moines, IA) and DSM Nutritional Products (part of the chemical conglomerate, with headquarters at Heerlen in the Netherlands) have extended their collaboration, which already covers lutein, so as to cover another natural carotenoid colorant – zeaxanthin, which takes its name from Zea mays (maize corn, which contains a lot of zeaxanthin) and xanthos (=yellow, in Greek). As food colorants approved by the European Commission, lutein is listed as E-161b and zeaxanthin is listed as E-161h. Both lutein and zeaxanthin are found in human and animal eyes, with lutein being the predominant component in the peripheral zones of the retina, while zeaxanthin is predominant in the central macula zone. As well as being food colorants, both lutein and zeaxanthin are marketed as nutritional supplements, with particular benefits for the health and function of the eyes Kemin produces FloraGLO lutein as a commercial product and DSM has been its sole worldwide sales agent and sublicensee onwards from early 2008. Kemin produces synthetic

Onwards from 1 April 2007, Omya (headquartered at Oftringen, Switzerland) has been the exclusive distributor for all European markets for all the products in Clariant’s Aluminium Finishing portfolio. Clariant emphasised the importance of Omya’s role at the recent International Aluminium Trade Fair (held in Dusseldorf, 7-9 October 2014). Over the past two years, Clariant has expanded its aluminium dyes and chemicals facility at Muttenz (8 km southeast of Basel city-centre) by 40%. Further investment is planned because the demand for Clariant’s dyes, colorants and process chemicals designed to improve the sustainability and aesthetics of anodised aluminium finishing, continues to outpace supply. Key products in the portfolio include: Aluprint, Sanodye, Sanodal and Anodal. Aluprint colorants are easyto-use solvent-based dye preparations, formulated to allow accurate printing and subsequent “lock-in’’ of multi-coloured text and patterns into the anodized aluminium. Original Source: Clariant AG, Rothaustrasse 61, 4132 Muttenz 1, Switzerland, website: http://www.clariant.com (7 Oct 2014) © Clariant 2014

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