- Email: [email protected]
Maroon to sell Chromaflo's tinting colorants
FOCUS Maroon to sell Chromaflo’s tinting colorants Maroon Group LLC (headquartered in Avon, OH) was recently appointed as the North American distributor for the Colortrend 871 series of tinting colorants manufactured by Chromaflo Technologies (of Ashtabula, OH). The Colortrend 871 range is designed for use in tinting water-based and emulsion paints. Mr Scott Norton (Maroon's Sales Manager) said: "As a market leader in pigment dispersions, Chromaflo continues to bring innovative products to the market, and we are excited to offer this new range of products to Maroon's customer base.'' Maroon Group was founded in 1977 and it has become a significant North American distributor for pigments, resins and additives, with 11 depots and warehouses covering all of the US, Canada and Mexico. In 2014, Maroon fulfilled more than 11,000 orders and shipped around 15,000 tonnes of chemical products to 900 customers in the paint, plastics, sealants, composites, graphic arts and rubber industries. In July 2014, CI Capital Partners (a New Yorkbased private equity firm) acquired a majority stake in Maroon, while the existing management team retained a minority equity interest. Mr Mark Maroon remains Chief Technology Officer and Mr Mark Reichard remains President and CEO. In October 2014, the group expanded its range of services as a result of acquiring Addipel LLC, a custom blender and re-packaging company. Besides Chromaflo, Maroon is also an authorised distributor for Huntsman Pigments, Nubiola, Omnova, Sté Nouvelle des Couleurs Zinciques (SNCZ) and Thiele Kaolin. Original Source: Ink World Magazine, 15 May 2015 (Website: http://www.inkworldmagazine. com) © Rodman Media 2015
TPS to sell PolyOne products in Great Britain & Ireland PolyOne (headquartered in Avon Lake, OH), one of the world's leading suppliers of plastics colorants, has appointed Total Polymer Solutions Ltd (TPS, of Rathcoole, County Dublin) as a distributor for Great Britain and Ireland in respect of its entire range of colorants, additives, thermoplastic elastomers and speciality engineering materials. TPS was co-founded in September 2002 by Mr Ronan Kennedy and Mr Eamonn Keane. They remain Managing Director and Sales Director respectively. Besides
June 2015
ON
PIGMENTS
PolyOne, TPS is also an authorised distributor for: Ineos, Hubron, Abbey Masterbatch and ColourTone Masterbatch. Original Source: Rubber World, Mar 2015, 251 (6), 7 (Website: http://www.rubberworld.com) © Rubber World Magazine 2015. Original Source: Total Polymer Solutions Ltd, 27 Mar 2015 (Unit 5, Block 613, Jordanstown Road, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, Ireland, Tel: +353 1 2573961 & +44 177 3520080, Website: http://www. totalpolymer.com) © TPS 2015
Tronox buys FMC’s soda ash assets, as a diversification away from TiO2 Effective 1 April 2015, Tronox Inc (of Stamford, CT) acquired the soda ash business of FMC Corp (headquartered in Philadelphia, PA), paying $1.64 bn cash. Of this total, $1.0 bn was supplied from cash-on-hand, the remainder was funded by a loan negotiated with UBS, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets. For Tronox, which is one of the world's top five TiO2 pigment suppliers and the world's second largest TiO2 feedstock supplier, the acquisition represents an important diversification step. But Tronox has made it clear that it fully intends to remain a major player in the TiO2 industry, continuing to invest in the business with the aim of becoming one of the industry's lowest cost producers of TiO2 pigment. Back in March 2013, Tronox secured a $1.5 bn senior secured loan from a consortium of banks and this gave it considerable "firepower'' to pursue acquisition opportunities. During the first half of 2013, rumours abounded that Tronox was going to buy the TiO2 businesses of Huntsman or Rockwood or both. At the beginning of 2014, rumours began circulating that Tronox might seek to acquire Kronos from the heirs of the late Mr Harold Simmons. In May 2014, there was serious speculation that Tronox might amalgamate its TiO2 business with DuPont's TiO2 business via a taxefficient Reverse Morris Trust transaction. But a merger with any of the other top seven TiO2 pigment producers would have entailed a lengthy wait for anti-trust clearance. In the end, the acquisition of FMC's soda ash business, being unrelated to TiO2, was completed just nine weeks after the original announcement. In full-year 2014, Tronox reported a net post-tax loss at $417 M on sales revenues of $1.737 bn. That compared against a net post-tax loss of $90 M on sales of $1.922 bn in full-year 2013. However, adjusted earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were roughly the same for both years – $353 M in 2014 and $362 M in 2013. The acquired soda ash business generated revenues of around $800 M in full-year 2014, with EBITDA at around $150-160 M. Over the next 12 months, the acquired soda ash business is expected to generate $130 M in free cashflow. The value of tax synergies, which are not captured in the EBITDA calculation, is expected to exceed $300 M. Because virtually all of the soda ash sales are booked in the US, Tronox is allowed to utilise its very substantial tax attributes to offset the pre-tax income from soda ash. Mainly resulting from settlement of the KerrMcGee fraudulent assets transfer lawsuit, Tronox has accumulated a $9.4 bn portfolio of tax-loss carry-forwards. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jul 2014, 7). The acquired soda ash business will be operated as a distinct segment – Tronox Alkali Chemicals. It has two mining and processing facilities in the Green River area of Wyoming, in the western US. The Westvaco mine was commissioned in 1948, while the Granger mine was commissioned in 1975. Besides the two processing facilities located adjacent to the respective mines, the Alkali Chemicals business has six other processing facilities located within Wyoming. The business employs 950 people in Wyoming plus 65 people based at a small office in Philadelphia, with marketing, administration and management roles. Tronox Alkali Chemicals can produce up to 4 M tonnes/y of soda ash and it has a 25% global market share. For FMC, proceeds from the sale of the soda ash business will help the company to pay down debt, which had increased substantially as a consequence of its $1.8 bn acquisition of Cheminova from Auriga Industries. The Cheminova acquisition greatly strengthened FMC's position in crop protection chemicals. FMC also retains a strong position in the global lithium industry and in the health and nutrition sector, where FMC BioPolymer is one of the world's leading suppliers of natural colorants. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jul 2014, 5). Original Source: TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jan/Feb 2015, 23 (1) 65-67 (Website: http:// www.artikol.com) © Artikol 2015. Original Source: Tronox Inc, 15 Feb, 1 Apr & 7 May 2015 (Suite 1100, 263 Tresser Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901, USA, Website: http:// www.tronox.com) © Tronox 2015
7
TPS to sell PolyOne products in Great Britain & Ireland PolyOne (headquartered in Avon Lake, OH), one of the world's leading suppliers of plastics colorants, has appointed Total Polymer Solutions Ltd (TPS, of Rathcoole, County Dublin) as a distributor for Great Britain and Ireland in respect of its entire range of colorants, additives, thermoplastic elastomers and speciality engineering materials. TPS was co-founded in September 2002 by Mr Ronan Kennedy and Mr Eamonn Keane. They remain Managing Director and Sales Director respectively. Besides
June 2015
ON
PIGMENTS
PolyOne, TPS is also an authorised distributor for: Ineos, Hubron, Abbey Masterbatch and ColourTone Masterbatch. Original Source: Rubber World, Mar 2015, 251 (6), 7 (Website: http://www.rubberworld.com) © Rubber World Magazine 2015. Original Source: Total Polymer Solutions Ltd, 27 Mar 2015 (Unit 5, Block 613, Jordanstown Road, Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, Ireland, Tel: +353 1 2573961 & +44 177 3520080, Website: http://www. totalpolymer.com) © TPS 2015
Tronox buys FMC’s soda ash assets, as a diversification away from TiO2 Effective 1 April 2015, Tronox Inc (of Stamford, CT) acquired the soda ash business of FMC Corp (headquartered in Philadelphia, PA), paying $1.64 bn cash. Of this total, $1.0 bn was supplied from cash-on-hand, the remainder was funded by a loan negotiated with UBS, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets. For Tronox, which is one of the world's top five TiO2 pigment suppliers and the world's second largest TiO2 feedstock supplier, the acquisition represents an important diversification step. But Tronox has made it clear that it fully intends to remain a major player in the TiO2 industry, continuing to invest in the business with the aim of becoming one of the industry's lowest cost producers of TiO2 pigment. Back in March 2013, Tronox secured a $1.5 bn senior secured loan from a consortium of banks and this gave it considerable "firepower'' to pursue acquisition opportunities. During the first half of 2013, rumours abounded that Tronox was going to buy the TiO2 businesses of Huntsman or Rockwood or both. At the beginning of 2014, rumours began circulating that Tronox might seek to acquire Kronos from the heirs of the late Mr Harold Simmons. In May 2014, there was serious speculation that Tronox might amalgamate its TiO2 business with DuPont's TiO2 business via a taxefficient Reverse Morris Trust transaction. But a merger with any of the other top seven TiO2 pigment producers would have entailed a lengthy wait for anti-trust clearance. In the end, the acquisition of FMC's soda ash business, being unrelated to TiO2, was completed just nine weeks after the original announcement. In full-year 2014, Tronox reported a net post-tax loss at $417 M on sales revenues of $1.737 bn. That compared against a net post-tax loss of $90 M on sales of $1.922 bn in full-year 2013. However, adjusted earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were roughly the same for both years – $353 M in 2014 and $362 M in 2013. The acquired soda ash business generated revenues of around $800 M in full-year 2014, with EBITDA at around $150-160 M. Over the next 12 months, the acquired soda ash business is expected to generate $130 M in free cashflow. The value of tax synergies, which are not captured in the EBITDA calculation, is expected to exceed $300 M. Because virtually all of the soda ash sales are booked in the US, Tronox is allowed to utilise its very substantial tax attributes to offset the pre-tax income from soda ash. Mainly resulting from settlement of the KerrMcGee fraudulent assets transfer lawsuit, Tronox has accumulated a $9.4 bn portfolio of tax-loss carry-forwards. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jul 2014, 7). The acquired soda ash business will be operated as a distinct segment – Tronox Alkali Chemicals. It has two mining and processing facilities in the Green River area of Wyoming, in the western US. The Westvaco mine was commissioned in 1948, while the Granger mine was commissioned in 1975. Besides the two processing facilities located adjacent to the respective mines, the Alkali Chemicals business has six other processing facilities located within Wyoming. The business employs 950 people in Wyoming plus 65 people based at a small office in Philadelphia, with marketing, administration and management roles. Tronox Alkali Chemicals can produce up to 4 M tonnes/y of soda ash and it has a 25% global market share. For FMC, proceeds from the sale of the soda ash business will help the company to pay down debt, which had increased substantially as a consequence of its $1.8 bn acquisition of Cheminova from Auriga Industries. The Cheminova acquisition greatly strengthened FMC's position in crop protection chemicals. FMC also retains a strong position in the global lithium industry and in the health and nutrition sector, where FMC BioPolymer is one of the world's leading suppliers of natural colorants. (See also 'Focus on Pigments', Jul 2014, 5). Original Source: TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jan/Feb 2015, 23 (1) 65-67 (Website: http:// www.artikol.com) © Artikol 2015. Original Source: Tronox Inc, 15 Feb, 1 Apr & 7 May 2015 (Suite 1100, 263 Tresser Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901, USA, Website: http:// www.tronox.com) © Tronox 2015
7