US-based silicones company Momentive Performance Materials is to be acquired by a consortium led by South Korean building materials firm KCC Corporation, private equity fund SJL Partners, and semi-conductor equipment maker Wonik QnC Corporation in a transaction valued at approximately $3.1 billion, including the assumption of net debt, pension and OPEB liabilities.
Momentive is the world’s second largest silicone maker, ranked between US-based Dow Corning and Germany’s Wacker. It tops the smaller ceramics and quartz market.
The KCC-led consortium has agreed to purchase a 100% stake in Momentive from Apollo Global Management, a US private equity investment firm that owns a 40% stake in Momentive. The other US equity investment firms owning Momentive are Oaktree Capital Management, D.E. Shaw and Pentwater Capital Management that together with Apollo hold a combined 75% stake.
KCC said its stake in Momentive will be 45%, while SJL will hold 50% and the remainder will be held by Wonik. The consortium plans to fully-own the company by buying out the remaining 25% shares from the over-the-counter market.
Based in Waterford, New York, Momentive is the world’s second largest silicone maker and manufactures specialty silicones and silanes, as well as fused quartz and specialty ceramics products. Momentive has a more than 75-year track record of creating products and solutions to serve more than 4,000 customers in over 100 countries. The company has a global network of 24 production sites and 12 R&D facilities.
The deal would also help KCC to become the world’s second largest silicone maker, with its sales from silicone expected to surge from current 200 billion won to more than 2 trillion won. The silicone business is expected to be the company’s new growth engine that will drive its future growth.