Apollo Management L.P. has acquired GEs Advanced Materials business, a chemical company whose ceramics division makes boron nitride powders used as solid lubricants, coatingsand additives, for $3.8 billion. The Dec. 3 sale creates a new company, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., based in Wilton, Conn.
The former GE Advanced Materials management team, led by president and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Hewett, will continue in their roles in the new business. In addition, the former joint ventures GE Bayer Silicones and GE Toshiba Silicones, their employees andmanagementare now part of Momentive Performance Materials. A GE spokesperson said that while the joint ventures did not produce silicone lubricants, some of their customers may formulate their products into lubricants.
We see this as a unique opportunity to build a new and exciting organization created from three global industry leaders, Hewett said. Momentive is now a stand-alone company, and we have the added flexibility and increased focus to operate more nimbly in the marketplace, helping our customers achieve their strategic, design and business objectives.
A leader in private equity, debt and capital market investments, Apollo has expertise and experience in the chemical industry. Joshua Harris, a founding partner of Apollo, said, We look forward to supporting the management team as they take the company to a new level, investing in new high-impact products, developing new market segments and applications, finding new customers and focusing on emerging growth markets.
Momentive Performance Materials is a specialty materials company in the silicones, quartz and ceramics industries.