Bain Capital Private Equity and Cinven have entered into definitive agreements to acquire Lonza Specialty Ingredients (“LSI”), a division of Lonza AG, for a total enterprise value of CHF 4.2 billion.
Ingredients in Coatings
LSI is one of the world-leading providers of specialty chemicals for microbial control solutions, used to eliminate or control harmful and unwanted micro-organisms. LSI’s products are critical ingredients in coatings, disinfectants, preservatives, sanitizers as well as personal care products and other industrial uses. The business also produces a range of other specialty chemicals, centered around its unique production facility in Switzerland.
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, LSI has approximately 2,800 employees, 11 R&D centers and 17 manufacturing sites across the world. The business serves circa 5,300 customers across a wide range of end-markets.
Acquisition to Strengthen Footprint
LSI is a strong company, which presents an attractive investment opportunity for a number of reasons:
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LSI provides a range of differentiated specialty chemical products, underpinned by strong R&D capabilities, regulatory and IP protections, and a highly qualified and dedicated workforce
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The microbial control solutions market benefits from structural growth due to favorable penetration trends, supportive regulatory dynamics, and the growing need to protect society from harmful micro-organisms
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The business serves a diversified set of attractive end-markets, with a particularly strong presence in the Professional Hygiene and Home & Personal Care segments
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The business enjoys leading positions in North America and Europe, with longstanding customer relationships and extensive regulatory expertise
The strategy of the consortium is to:
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Enhance the R&D capabilities of LSI to continue to develop innovative chemistries to control the spread of microbes (such as viruses and bacteria) in a sustainable and responsible manner
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Build deeper customer relationships through customized application development in a complex regulatory environment, and to provide an even greater range of microbial control formulations
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Consolidate the microbial control solutions market through buy-and-build opportunities in the sector, which remains fragmented
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Invest further in the world-class production facility in Visp, Switzerland, to enhance its unique technical capabilities and high quality specialty chemicals portfolio
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Cinven and Bain Capital are delighted to invest in LSI, as a global leader in a specialty chemicals category that serves a critical need for society, across a broad range of end-markets,” commented Pontus Pettersson, Partner at Cinven.
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LSI has multiple attractive growth opportunities as the leading global player in the growing market for microbial control. Our strategy is to reinforce the company’s market position, to accelerate growth through further investment in R&D and innovation, and to use LSI as a platform for further industry consolidation, in line with Bain Capital’s and Cinven’s strategies in other sectors,” commented David Danon, Managing Director at Bain Capital.
Source: Bain Capital