Synthomer Plc (London, U.K.) announced an agreement to divest Synthomer a.s., the operating company for its Acrylate Monomers business based in the Czech Republic, to Mutares SE & Co. KGaA, a German listed private equity-style company focused on companies in transition.
Acrylate Monomers is a leading supplier of acrylic acid and related monomers to the European merchant market and has around 300 employees based at its manufacturing site in Sokolov, Czech Republic. The site also supports some of the Group’s downstream needs including as a supplier of acrylic monomers to Group companies and producing acrylic dispersions on behalf of the Group. These supply arrangements will continue under the new ownership.
Acrylate Monomers, currently part of Synthomer’s Health & Protection and Performance Materials division, operates in highly cyclical markets and is one of the more capital-intensive parts of the Group’s portfolio. Acrylate Monomers is the only remaining upstream business in the Synthomer portfolio and was designated as non-core as part of the strategic review announced in October 2022.
The transaction will therefore remove a highly cyclical and capital-intensive base chemicals business from the Group, improving profitability and cash generation, and further transitioning the simplified portfolio towards a specialty focus.
Synthomer CEO Michael Willome said “today’s announcement is another important step in delivering our strategy to simplify our business and sharpen our focus on higher-margin, higher-growth speciality chemicals markets where we have strong and sustainable leadership positions. I am confident this transaction is a good outcome for all stakeholders. Mutares, as an experienced turnaround investor with a strong track record in transforming industrial businesses, is well positioned to support Acrylate Monomers in its next phase of development. We wish our colleagues well for the next chapter in Acrylate Monomers’ story.”