M&As: Polyone completes Clariant Masterbatch buy with new name Avient; DSM takes over part of Clariant’s 3D printing business

US compounder PolyOne Corporation has completed its purchase of the colour masterbatch businesses of Clariant and Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. PolyOne also announced that it has changed its name and will now be called Avient.

The entry into the agreement to acquire the Clariant Masterbatch business was originally announced in December 2019. The Clariant Masterbatch business includes 46 manufacturing operations and technology centres in 29 countries and approximately 3,500 employees, who will join Avient’s Color, Additives and Inks segment.

The combined net purchase price is US$1.44 billion, representing a 10.8x multiple of 2019 adjusted EBITDA, or 7.5x including anticipated synergies.

“We proudly welcome our newest associates and valued customers from Clariant Masterbatch. They are joining us on Day 1 of this new era for our company, which as of today will be named Avient,” said Robert M. Patterson, Chairman/President/CEO, Avient.

Patterson continued, “Under this new brand, we bring two global leaders together to create a specialty company focused on sustainable solutions for our customers, being a Great Place to Work for our associates, and creating value for all stakeholders.”

“With this acquisition, Avient now expects over 85% of adjusted EBITDA to be generated from speciality applications,” said Patterson. “This is up from less than 10% when our specialty journey began over a decade ago.”

Meanwhile in other news, Dutch chemicals firm DSM has taken over certain parts of Swiss chemical company Clariant’s 3D printing business portfolio. The agreement allows DSM to offer customers rapid product development iterations for filaments and pellets based on application needs.

As additive manufacturing technology is increasingly adopted for industrial production, customers are looking for materials to match their existing product portfolio and production processes. The combination of DSM’s filament and pellet capabilities and former Clariant 3D printing activities will be able to better serve those needs, bringing customers quick tweaking of high performance filaments and pellets based on market needs, said the firms.

The upcoming integration of these assets enables DSM to strengthen its engineering grade filament, pellet and powder portfolio. Customers will also benefit from faster product tweaks based on application needs thanks to the Clariant team’s experience in fast and market-driven product development using a dedicated, highly flexible and high-speed compounding setup.

The transaction includes part of Clariant 3D printing team, selection of their portfolio and pipeline of engineering-grade filament and pellet materials and customer relations, expertise in powder development, and a small production line for fast ramp-up of small batches.

Hugo da Silva, Vice President Additive Manufacturing at DSM, commented: “We are very excited about welcoming the new team members and the expertise they bring to expand our service offering. We share the same focus on customer needs and have complementary expertise and portfolio.”

“After thorough strategic review, Clariant concluded that its 3D printing materials business was no longer aligned with its strategic focus. While we will continue to serve the 3D printing market with our high quality additives and flame retardants, we are confident that DSM is the ideal new home for parts of Clariant’s tailored 3D printing materials business to continue its successful development. I look forward to seeing them thrive,“ said Richard Haldimann, Head of Sustainability Transformation at Clariant.

(PRA)

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