Bahrain-based Investcorp, the global investment group, has announced it signed an agreement to acquire Almatis Group, a world leader in the development and production of specialty alumina materials, from Rhone Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Private Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Almatis’ products are used in various industrial manufacturing processes and are critical ingredients in the production of certain materials and solutions such as refractories that protect industrial process equipment from the damaging effect of heat, wear, chemical attack, impact and erosion, and provide thermal insulation. The company’s products are sold globally to customers in the high-grade steel production, glass manufacturing, high-end ceramics and electronics industries, amongst others. Almatis has its principal manufacturing facilities in The Netherlands, Germany, the United States and China, and distributes on a global scale operating across the US and Europe and throughout Asia.
Almatis’ chief executive officer, Oscar Groomes, said: “We are very excited about our new partnership with Investcorp. They have demonstrated a strong understanding of our business model and the opportunities for growth and expansion from our current strong base. With their financial support and global experience, we expect to capitalise on some very exciting prospects to grow and strengthen Almatis through its next phase of development”.
Investcorp managing director Mamoun Askari said that Investcorp saw Almatis as a highly attractive investment opportunity given its leading position in specialty alumina and the prospects for continued growth and margin expansion.
“Almatis has had an exceptional track record in the last couple of years. We believe that the company will continue to excel due to its strong and increasing focus on value creation for its customers, its compelling position in most of the categories of specialty alumina that it participates in and the continuing robust fundamentals in the global industries that it serves. We are confident that under the strong leadership of Oscar Groomes and the team that he has built, Almatis’ future is very promising,” he said.
Almatis was established in 1910 as a division of Alcoa, and was sold to Rhone Capital and Ontario Teachers’ Private Capital in February 2004.
Investcorp specialises in alternative investments. The firm has four lines of business: private equity investment, real estate investment, hedge funds and venture capital.
Investcorp announced a net income of $110.3 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2005, an increase of 22 per cent over the previous audited fiscal year. Income before operating expenses, at $324.7 million, was a record achievement for the firm. Investcorp has offices in Bahrain, New York and London.
Established in 1982, it now manages total investments in alternative assets of around $9.5 billion.
