Lubrizol Corp. announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell its food ingredients and industrial specialties businesses to an affiliate of private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. It is the largest of four non-core divestitures that Lubrizol has made in the past seven months.
Sun Capital Partners, of Boca Raton, Fla., is a behind-the-scenes player in the lubricants industry, having bought white oils supplier Sonneborn Inc. from the former Crompton Corp. last June. The operations it acquired last week, however, have little involvement with lubes.
The deal included three businesses that were part of the consumer specialties product line of Lubrizols Noveon Specialty Chemicals segment. One sells fine chemicals, a second specialty polymers and additives, and the third performance materials. Collectively they serve industries such as food and beverage, personal care, textile, paper, tires and adhesives. Plants in Akron, Ohio, and Henry, Ill., also make antioxidants used in lubricants and other applications.
In addition to the Akron and Henry plants, the transaction calls for Sun Capital Partners to acquire factories in Cincinnati, Charlotte, N.C., Cheyenne, Wyo., and Kalama, Wash. The companies did not disclose the price of the sale but said they expect it to close during the second quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
In July Lubrizol said it planned to sell five non-core assets with revenues totaling $500 million. The businesses acquired by Sun Capital Partners had $400 million in revenue last year.