Westlake Chemical Corp. (Houston; www.westlake.com) announced that it has issued an exclusive, binding offer to acquire NAKAN, a global compounding solutions business, from Los Angeles-based private equity firm, OpenGate Capital.
NAKAN, headquartered in Reims, France, has eight production facilities, located in China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain and Vietnam, as well as a world-class research facility in France and application laboratory in the United States. NAKAN’s products are used in a wide variety of applications, including in the automotive, building and construction, and medical industries. NAKAN generated approximately $300 million of revenue in the most recent twelve-month period.
Under the terms of the offer, which is subject to exclusivity protection, Westlake will pay approximately $265 million in cash, subject to adjustment. The binding offer was made in order to permit NAKAN to proceed with its consultation obligations with French works councils prior to entering into a negotiated, mutually binding purchase agreement.
“The combination of NAKAN with Westlake’s existing compounding business will present an excellent strategic fit. It will allow us to expand our compounding business globally and add important specialty products and technology to our existing portfolio,” said Albert Chao, Westlake’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “NAKAN is an impressive business with an outstanding reputation for meeting customer needs with superior technology, product quality, and operating excellence. We look forward to working with their talented team once they join the Westlake family of companies.”
The transaction is expected to close by early 2019, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, completion of required employee consultation procedures and other customary closing conditions.