Press Room
April 1, 2003
German Version Cognis reaches agreement with Vita Thermoplastics Compounds regarding the sale of Synco
International specialty chemicals company Cognis is divesting its business unit Synco, which manufactures master batches for the packaging, house wares and electronic industries. The new owner of this company, located in Campi Bisenzio near Florence, Italy, will be VTC Synco Srl, a member of the thermoplastic compounding division of British Vita PLC. The purchaser will retain all 28 employees of Synco, who in 2002 achieved a turnover of approximately six million Euro. The closing took place on first of April.
"Cognis is selling Synco as part of our already initiated process of concentrating on our core competencies. Synco is a profitable facility, however it does not create synergies in our plastics technology business. We were already able to increase our productivity last year by restructuring our strategic business units and divesting activities, which do not directly add value in our chosen markets. Selling Synco represents a further step in this process”, says Antonio Trius, Chief Executive Officer of Cognis. He expands: “We are convinced that British Vita is the right investor to successfully continue developing Synco over the long term. Last but not least, one of the most important factors for us over the course of the negotiations was that they agreed to retain all 28 employees.”
With a turnover of 1.5 billion Euro, British Vita ranks among the leading manufacturers in the plastics industry. “By acquiring Synco, we will strengthen our European market position in the field of technical products and pave the way for further growth prospects for master batches", explained Calvin O’Connor, Industrial Polymers Director at VTC.
About Cognis:
Cognis is a worldwide supplier of innovative specialty chemicals and nutritional ingredients with almost 9,100 employees in close to 50 countries. The company has dedicated its activities to a high level of sustainability and delivers natural source raw materials and ingredients for food, nutrition and healthcare markets, and the cosmetics, detergents and cleaners industries. Additionally, Cognis provides solutions for a number of other industries, such as coatings and inks, lubricants, textiles and plastics, as well as agrosolutions and mining chemicals.
Cognis is owned by private equity funds advised by Permira, GS Capital Partners, and Schroder Ventures Life Sciences. In 2002, Cognis recorded sales of 3,1 billion Euro and an operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items (EBITDA recurring) of 393 million Euro.
Contacts at Cognis:
Franco Cuciti, Managing Director, Cognis Italy Spa.
Phone: +39-031-884-202
email: franco.cuciti@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com
Susanne Sengel, Corporate Communications Manager
Phone: +49-211-7940-5431
email: susanne.sengel@cognis.com
Internet: www.cognis.com