Evonik acquisition was forced to be postponed

Source: China Chemical Industry News August 12, 2019

The US Federal Trade Commission announced a lawsuit to prevent Evonik from acquiring PeroxyChem, a global specialty peroxide producer. In this regard, Evonik said it will actively respond to the lawsuit.

According to reports,At the end of 2018, Evonik signed an agreement with One Equity Partners to acquire US PeroxyChem for US$625 million. The acquisition plan is completed in mid-2019. But given that the Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit, the acquisition can only be completed by the end of 2019 at the earliest.

Kuroman, chairman of Evonik, said:\"It is disappointing that the Federal Trade Commission has taken action to restrict the acquisition. Currently, the competition in the hydrogen peroxide industry is extremely fierce. PeroxyChem is geared towards the highly attractive and fast-growing end market, its products and Evonik’s The product portfolio complements each other and complements each other. This acquisition is an opportunity for Evonik to expand its specialty hydrogen peroxide and peroxyacetic acid products, optimize the distribution network, achieve ultra-high efficiency, and increase production and sales. We are confident of winning the case and completing the acquisition. \"

Bruce Lerner, President and CEO of PeroxyChem, said: \"We still believe that the complementary business strengths of the two companies complement each other and will bring new and considerable development opportunities to our customers and employees.\"

Both companies will actively respond to the relevant litigation filed by the Federal Trade Commission and prove to the court that the Federal Trade Commission lacks a correct understanding of the current market dynamics, especially the rapid development of PeroxyChem’s core business of special hydrogen peroxide, as well as acquisitions. After the completion of the two companies' synergy and customer advantage. During this period, the two companies operated as usual.