Westlake Chemical buys German PVC firm Vinnolit

Westlake Chemical has signed a definitive agreement to acquire German-based Vinnolit Holdings and its subsidiary companies from private-equity firm Advent International, officials announced on Wednesday. 

Vinnolit is an integrated global provider of specialty polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins.  The acquisition price of €490 million will be financed using existing Westlake cash and credit facilities.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014, subject to standard closing conditions, including regulatory review. 

Vinnolit has six production facilities located in Gendorf, Burghausen, Cologne, Knapsack and Schkopau in Germany and Hillhouse in the UK. These operations have a combined annual capacity of 780,000 tons of PVC, including specialty paste and suspension grades, 665,000 tons of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and 475,000 tons of membrane-grade caustic soda.  

Vinnolit also has a world-class research and development (R&D) facility in Gendorf and applications laboratory in Burghausen. 

"The acquisition of Vinnolit is an excellent strategic fit for Westlake. It will allow us to expand our chlorvinyl business globally and adds important specialty PVC products and technology to our existing portfolio," said Albert Chao, Westlake's CEO.  "Vinnolit is an impressive company with an outstanding reputation for meeting customer needs with superior technology, product quality, and operating excellence."

Vinnolit's products are suitable for a wide range of industrial and building product applications including automotive sealants, cable sheathing, flooring, medical applications, pipes, rigid film, technical coatings, wall covering and window profiles. 

Vinnolit's headquarters are located in Ismaning, Germany, outside of Munich.  The company generated €917 million of revenue in 2013 and employs approximately 1,400 employees. 

"We have transformed Vinnolit into the leading specialty PVC manufacturer and remain dedicated to further growing the company's business," said Dr. Josef Ertl, managing director of Vinnolit, on behalf of the management board. 

"We thank Advent for their support and strategic advice in developing Vinnolit and facilitating its successful transformation," he added. "We, as a management team, look forward to beginning a new chapter in our company's history and continuing our successful growth path together with Westlake."