- Email: [email protected]
Omya to sell talc for IMI Fabi
FOCUS Henan Billions began commissioning a new 100,000 tonnes/y chloride-route TiO2 pigment plant at Jiaozuo City and it has now begun commercial-scale production, albeit at a fairly modest operating rate. PPG Industries (of Pittsburgh, PA) and Ti-Cons Jendro & Weiland provided technical assistance for this chloride-route TiO2 venture. (See 'Focus on Pigments', Dec 2014, 6). During 2014, Sichuan Lomon exported 134,900 tonnes of TiO2 pigment and Henan Billions exported 88,900 tonnes (including 81,600 tonnes of rutile-type pigment). The combined total – 223,800 tonnes – represented nearly 37% of total Chinese exports. With a total capacity of 620,000 tonnes/y, counting-in the new chlorideroute plant, Henan Billions is now the world's fourth largest TiO2 pigment producer, jumping ahead of Tronox and Kronos, but still behind DuPont, Huntsman and Cristal. Original Source: TiO2 Worldwide Update, Jul/Aug 2015, 23 (2) 1-3 (Website: http://www.artikol. com) © Artikol 2015. Original Source: APCJ, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, Jun 2015, 28 (3), 20 (Website: http://www.asiapacificcoatingsjournal. com) © DMG Events Ltd 2015
Omya to sell talc for IMI Fabi IMI Fabi (headquartered in Postalesio, 140 km northeast of Milan) has signedup Omya (headquartered in Oftringen, 60 km west of Zurich) as its new distributor for talc pigments and fillers suitable for use in the paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, building chemicals and paper markets. The distribution agreement covers all of Europe and may be extended to cover other regions. The partnership commenced in Mar 2015 and expanded Omya's existing distribution and minerals activities. IMI Fabi is one of Europe's largest talc producers. Omya is a major global industrial minerals producer in its own right, but in recent years it has been actively building up its business as a distributor of minerals, pigments and speciality chemicals. Original Source: Farbe und Lack (Online Version), 24 Jun 2015, (Website: http://www.farbeundlack. de/) (in German) © Vincentz Network 2015
Saint-Gobain aims to take control of Sika, buying the founding family’s super-shares Sika AG (headquartered in Baar, Switzerland) is a multinational September 2015
ON
PIGMENTS
company, with subsidiaries in 91 countries, more than 160 factories and nearly 17,000 employees worldwide. The company is the world market leader in the construction chemicals sector and the world's second largest supplier of industrial adhesives and sealants. It describes itself as specialising in the development and supply of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcement and protection in the construction and automotive industries. Sika is especially well-known for the production of gypsum-based cement and mortar products and additives, including concrete colorants and the Sikafloor Pronto pigments range. Sika also produces adhesives, paints and fillers for vehicle body repairs. For fullyear 2014, Sika reported post-tax profit at SFr 441 M on sales revenues of SFr 5.57 bn. These figures represented improvements of 28% and 13% on 2013. For full-year 2015, Sika anticipates a further 6-8% improvement in sales, partly thanks to a recent wave of acquisitions. On 27 January 2015, Sika completed the acquisition of Dura Moza (of Mozambique), with annual sales revenues of SFr 2 M. On 17 March, Sika completed the purchase of Axson Technologies, with plants for making epoxy and polyurethane formulations in the US, Mexico, France, Slovakia, China and Japan. Axson reported 2014 sales at around SFr 75 M and had a global workforce of 365 people. On 27 March, Sika acquired Construction Technologies Australia (CTA), with annual sales revenues of SFr 22 M. On 2 May, Sika acquired BMI Products (of Milpitas, northern California), with annual sales revenues in excess of $20 M. On 1 July, Sika bought-out the stake of its joint venture partner Buzzi Unicem to take full control of Addiment Italia, which reported sales of nearly SFr 17 M for 2014. The Sika group was founded by Mr Kaspar Winkler in 1910 and it expanded as a family-owned business thanks to the involvement of Mr Fritz Schenker (son-in-law of Mr Winkler) onwards from 1928 and Mr Romuald Burkard (son-in-law of Mr Schenker) onwards from 1953. In the early 1970s, Sika became an AG-status public company, with shares traded on the Zurich Stock Exchange. However, it adopted an unusual ownership structure, with the Burkard-Schenker family exclusively owning "supershares'', representing 52.4% of the
voting rights but only 16.1% of the share capital. The other 83.9% of the equity in Sika AG was available for other investors. In recent times, similar dual-class ownership structures have been adopted by the California-based multinationals, Google Inc and Facebook Inc. Mr Romuald Burkard died in 2003 and his widow, Mrs Franziska BurkardSchenkler died in December 2013, at the age of 85. Their five surviving children, all of them aged between 50 and 60, became heirs to the estate. Mr Urs Burkard (born in 1958) was left as the only family member on the Board of Sika AG and it became clear that neither he nor any of his siblings were interested in continuing direct involvement in the company. Their combined shareholding in Sika was vested in Schenker-Winkler Holding (SWH) and they agreed to transfer the entire ownership of SWH to the Saint-Gobain group for SFr 2.75 bn (equivalent to €2.3 bn). The agreement was announced by Saint-Gobain on 8 December 2015. Saint-Gobain (headquartered in Courbevoie, on the outskirts of Paris) is a major supplier of construction materials (notably gypsum, plasterboard, glass and ceramics) and the planned acquisition of a controlling stake in Sika was intended to be a key element in its focus on consolidating its position within the construction industry. At the same time as announcing the Sika deal, Saint Gobain declared that it would sell its Verallia subsidiary, the world's leading manufacturer of container glass. Following a competitive tender, Saint Gobain declared in early June that Apollo Global (a private equity fund, based in New York) had agreed to pay €2.945 bn to buy Verallia. Saint-Gobain's agreement to pay SFr 2.75 bn to buy SWH represented a 78% premium on Sika's share price at the close of trading on 5 December 2014. Saint-Gobain stated that because it would acquire majority control of Sika, it would fully consolidate the company's activities within its accounts and would embark on a rationalisation campaign, generating €100 M per annum in savings in 2018 and €180 M per annum onwards from 2019. However, Saint-Gobain stated that it had no intention of bidding for the remainder of Sika's shares. This generated a furious response from Sika's Board of Directors and from most of the
5
Omya to sell talc for IMI Fabi IMI Fabi (headquartered in Postalesio, 140 km northeast of Milan) has signedup Omya (headquartered in Oftringen, 60 km west of Zurich) as its new distributor for talc pigments and fillers suitable for use in the paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, building chemicals and paper markets. The distribution agreement covers all of Europe and may be extended to cover other regions. The partnership commenced in Mar 2015 and expanded Omya's existing distribution and minerals activities. IMI Fabi is one of Europe's largest talc producers. Omya is a major global industrial minerals producer in its own right, but in recent years it has been actively building up its business as a distributor of minerals, pigments and speciality chemicals. Original Source: Farbe und Lack (Online Version), 24 Jun 2015, (Website: http://www.farbeundlack. de/) (in German) © Vincentz Network 2015
Saint-Gobain aims to take control of Sika, buying the founding family’s super-shares Sika AG (headquartered in Baar, Switzerland) is a multinational September 2015
ON
PIGMENTS
company, with subsidiaries in 91 countries, more than 160 factories and nearly 17,000 employees worldwide. The company is the world market leader in the construction chemicals sector and the world's second largest supplier of industrial adhesives and sealants. It describes itself as specialising in the development and supply of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcement and protection in the construction and automotive industries. Sika is especially well-known for the production of gypsum-based cement and mortar products and additives, including concrete colorants and the Sikafloor Pronto pigments range. Sika also produces adhesives, paints and fillers for vehicle body repairs. For fullyear 2014, Sika reported post-tax profit at SFr 441 M on sales revenues of SFr 5.57 bn. These figures represented improvements of 28% and 13% on 2013. For full-year 2015, Sika anticipates a further 6-8% improvement in sales, partly thanks to a recent wave of acquisitions. On 27 January 2015, Sika completed the acquisition of Dura Moza (of Mozambique), with annual sales revenues of SFr 2 M. On 17 March, Sika completed the purchase of Axson Technologies, with plants for making epoxy and polyurethane formulations in the US, Mexico, France, Slovakia, China and Japan. Axson reported 2014 sales at around SFr 75 M and had a global workforce of 365 people. On 27 March, Sika acquired Construction Technologies Australia (CTA), with annual sales revenues of SFr 22 M. On 2 May, Sika acquired BMI Products (of Milpitas, northern California), with annual sales revenues in excess of $20 M. On 1 July, Sika bought-out the stake of its joint venture partner Buzzi Unicem to take full control of Addiment Italia, which reported sales of nearly SFr 17 M for 2014. The Sika group was founded by Mr Kaspar Winkler in 1910 and it expanded as a family-owned business thanks to the involvement of Mr Fritz Schenker (son-in-law of Mr Winkler) onwards from 1928 and Mr Romuald Burkard (son-in-law of Mr Schenker) onwards from 1953. In the early 1970s, Sika became an AG-status public company, with shares traded on the Zurich Stock Exchange. However, it adopted an unusual ownership structure, with the Burkard-Schenker family exclusively owning "supershares'', representing 52.4% of the
voting rights but only 16.1% of the share capital. The other 83.9% of the equity in Sika AG was available for other investors. In recent times, similar dual-class ownership structures have been adopted by the California-based multinationals, Google Inc and Facebook Inc. Mr Romuald Burkard died in 2003 and his widow, Mrs Franziska BurkardSchenkler died in December 2013, at the age of 85. Their five surviving children, all of them aged between 50 and 60, became heirs to the estate. Mr Urs Burkard (born in 1958) was left as the only family member on the Board of Sika AG and it became clear that neither he nor any of his siblings were interested in continuing direct involvement in the company. Their combined shareholding in Sika was vested in Schenker-Winkler Holding (SWH) and they agreed to transfer the entire ownership of SWH to the Saint-Gobain group for SFr 2.75 bn (equivalent to €2.3 bn). The agreement was announced by Saint-Gobain on 8 December 2015. Saint-Gobain (headquartered in Courbevoie, on the outskirts of Paris) is a major supplier of construction materials (notably gypsum, plasterboard, glass and ceramics) and the planned acquisition of a controlling stake in Sika was intended to be a key element in its focus on consolidating its position within the construction industry. At the same time as announcing the Sika deal, Saint Gobain declared that it would sell its Verallia subsidiary, the world's leading manufacturer of container glass. Following a competitive tender, Saint Gobain declared in early June that Apollo Global (a private equity fund, based in New York) had agreed to pay €2.945 bn to buy Verallia. Saint-Gobain's agreement to pay SFr 2.75 bn to buy SWH represented a 78% premium on Sika's share price at the close of trading on 5 December 2014. Saint-Gobain stated that because it would acquire majority control of Sika, it would fully consolidate the company's activities within its accounts and would embark on a rationalisation campaign, generating €100 M per annum in savings in 2018 and €180 M per annum onwards from 2019. However, Saint-Gobain stated that it had no intention of bidding for the remainder of Sika's shares. This generated a furious response from Sika's Board of Directors and from most of the
5