Private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors will acquire Milacron from Avenue Capital Group for an undisclosed amount. Milacrons Cimcool industrial fluids segment supplies metalworking and industrial fluids.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. Milacrons management team will continue with the company, which will remain headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. We believe Milacron is very well positioned to continue growing around the world and particularly in North America and emerging markets, said Tim Walsh, managing director at CCMP and co-head of the firms industrials group.
CCMP Capital Advisors LLC invests in four main areas: healthcare, energy, consumer and general industrial. Over the years, weve done a lot of investing in the chemical industry, as well as investing in capital equipment businesses, Walsh told Lube Report.
He explained that CCMPs conversation when considering a business acquisition includes discussing how growth will be created inside the enterprise. Milacron had a tough 2008 and 2009 like a lot of folks did, but having emerged from bankruptcy under Dennis Smiths leadership, theyve done a great job of growing the business, Walsh said. We got excited about the mission that management was articulating for where the company could go.
Some of CCMPs own portfolio companies were familiar with Milacrons Cimcool business unit and its products. They have a phenomenal reputation in the marketplace, and people ask for their products by name, and it provides very good performance characteristics, Walsh said. Those are some of the things we got excited about in particular around Cimcool.
He noted that the Cimcool business unit put a lot of money into research and development to enhance their products. Thats part of that growth story the management team articulated to us, and that were pretty excited about, Walsh said.
Bob McKee, president of Cimcool, said it welcomed CCMPs ownership and leadership. Weve presented our future plans and strategies and goals to CCMP, and were in sync with what they want to do, McKee told Lube Report. Theyve been nothing but supportive in everything that weve talked about.
With renewed financial stability and CCMPs support, we expect to continue to expand our market share, extend our global reach and invest in technologies to meet our customers needs around the world over the long term, Milacron CEO Dennis Smith said. Avenue Capital Group has been a very supportive investor and played a large role in the successes we have achieved.
Milacron exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2009. In June 2009, a bankruptcy court in Cincinnati had approved the sale of Milacrons assets for an estimated $175 million to a group led by New York-based Avenue Capital Group and Waltham, Mass.-headquartered DDJ Capital Management LLC.