The Verdugt B.V. group of acid salts businesses, headquartered at Tiel, the Netherlands, has been sold by BP Amoco to a group of investors led by New York merchant bank Castle Harlan in conjunction with principals of US Salt and First Union Capital Partners and with CVC Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Verdugt B.V. produces and distributes organic salts used in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Among the branded products included in the deal are Clearway airport runway de-icers and Bio-Add anti-salmonella animal feed additives. Principal markets for Verdugt B.V. are in Western Europe, where many of its products are market leaders.
The Castle Harlan-led group plans to invest in Verdugt B.V. and further develop its businesses. Verdugt B.V employees, including the existing management team, will be retained, the investors said. BP Amoco said it was divesting Verdugt B.V. as part of its focus on petrochemicals in which it can build global positions.
Jeffrey Siegal, a Castle Harlan managing director, said: "Verdugt B.V. has a modern, flexible manufacturing operation that produces top-quality, high-purity products and an experienced and motivated management team that has a proven track record of developing and marketing new products through a committed and growing distribution network."
Dr. John Robinson, BP Amoco Group Vice President, said: "This divestment is consistent with the petrochemical focus of BP Amoco. Verdugt B.V. is a good business with a strong management team. This transaction offers continuity to customers and staff of the Verdugt B.V. businesses. In addition, BP Amoco will continue to supply the Verdugt B.V. group with various acid raw materials from its plants at Hull, UK."
The investors acquiring Verdugt B.V. include Castle Harlan Partners III, L.P., a private equity investment partnership organized and managed by Castle Harlan; First Union Capital Partners, which is the private equity arm of First Union Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina, the sixth-largest bank holding company in the U.S.; management of US Salt Holdings LLC, Jacksonville, Florida; and CVC Capital Partners, based in London, one of the largest private equity firms in Europe.
Mark Demetree, Chairman and Chief Executive of US Salt, a privately held chemicals group formed in 1997 by former managers of North American Salt Company, said: "Verdugt will provide us an excellent acquisition platform in the European market place. In addition, US Salt's distribution system will enhance Verdugt's penetration of the North American market."
Jim Cook, a partner in First Union Capital Partners, which is the largest investor in US Salt, said: "The Verdugt acquisition is complementary to the rollup strategy currently being pursued by US Salt."
Castle Harlan Partners III, with $630 million in committed capital, is one of several investment funds totalling more than $1 billion that have been managed by Castle Harlan Inc. and represent major corporate and public pension funds, college endowments, foundations and individual investors. Since the firm's founding, the firm has completed acquisitions exceeding $3.5 billion.
US Salt Holdings is a privately held chemicals group formed in 1997 by former managers of North American Salt Company. Its first acquisition was the Watkins Glen Salt Refinery in Upstate New York, which it bought from Cargill Salt in October 1997. In addition, US Salt recently completed the acquisition of DuPont's sodium nitrite and NSA business based in Gibbstown, New Jersey.
First Union Capital Partners, founded in 1988, has invested approximately $900 million in more than 70 portfolio companies. In addition, it has assisted its portfolio companies in raising more than $5 billion in additional financing. First Union Capital Partners is the largest investor in US Salt.
Castle Harlan's current portfolio companies include Universal Compression Inc., one of the world's largest independent providers of natural gas compression equipment and services, primarily to the energy industry. First Union Capital Partners is also an investor in Universal Compression with Castle Harlan.
BP Amoco is a newly formed group of companies operating in the energy and petrochemical industries. Market capitalisation of BP Amoco at December 1, 1998 was $143 billion, with total revenues of $108 billion. Chemicals revenues totalled $13 billion.