Two major acquisition deals have been confirmed, while one IPO is postponed due to a bad climate.
The first completion was Calumet's purchase of specialist lubes independent Royal Purple as reported earlier last month. The deal was sealed for some $333m, with the majority of the funds being raised from an unsecured loan notes issue worth $275m. The remainder was paid in cash.
In a statement from Calumet, CEO Bill Grube stated: "We are very excited to add Royal Purple's people and its products to Calumet. We look forward to working with the Royal Purple employees to continue to build upon their track record of growth."
The deal between Brazil's Cosan and the UK-based Comma Oil and Chemicals was also completed this month, with Cosan taking on the company's UK manufacturing and distribution operations. The acquisition was first reported in March this year with Cosan set to pay no more than $100m to Comma's UK owners, Esso Petroleum. It has been a busy few months in the Brazilian company's relationship with the UK; it also announced the acquisition of British-owned Comgas in June.
Meanwhile there was disappointment once again for the owners of German chemical maker Evonik Industries. Despite a bullish statement at the end of May 2012 that majority shareholders, RAG Foundation, had agreed to a third attempted IPO of the company, the plans were called off only weeks later.
According to a recent report by OEM/Lube News, the floatation was abandoned due to the state of the global capital markets. Despite apparent interest from some major investors, RAG-Stiftung and minority shareholder CVC Capital Partners pulled the plug on the event when it became clear they wouldn't reach the €15bn valuation they were seeking for up to 30% of the company. Both organisations have stated that a further attempt will be made to float Evonik at a future date.