Kraton acquires renewable raw materials maker Arizona Chemical for $1.37 bn

Kraton Performance Polymers Inc, a global producer of highly-engineered polymers, on September 28, 2015 entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the capital stock of privately held Arizona Chemical Holdings Corporation for a cash purchase price of $1.37 billion. Arizona Chemical is a leading global producer of high-value performance products and specialty chemicals derived from non-hydrocarbon, renewable raw materials.  Arizona Chemical's end use market exposure is highly complementary with that of Kraton, particularly in markets such as adhesives, roads and construction, coatings and oilfield chemicals.
 
"This transformational acquisition will extend Kraton's technology and market diversification, while substantially increasing profitability and free cash flow, creating a more robust platform for growth and value creation for our stockholders," said Kevin M Fogarty,  president and chief executive officer, Kraton.
   
Dan F Smith, chairman of Kraton's Board of Directors, added, “Kraton and Arizona Chemical are both well-respected, leading providers of high quality products and innovations in their respective specialty markets. The fact that Kraton and Arizona Chemical have such a highly complementary market focus, coupled with a shared business philosophy fundamentally premised on product differentiation and portfolio shift to drive improved profitability, is what makes this such a compelling combination.”
 
Arizona Chemical is a market-driven global specialty chemicals company that manufactures and sells high-value performance products derived from pine wood pulping co-products.  As the largest global provider in the pine chemicals industry, Arizona Chemical refines and further upgrades two primary feedstocks, crude tall oil and crude sulfate turpentine, into value added specialty products. The company sells its products into adhesive, road and construction and tire markets, and it produces and sells a broad range of chemical intermediates into markets that include fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, coatings, metalworking fluids and lubricants, inks, flavors and fragrances and mining. Arizona Chemical serves a diverse base of over 550 customers in 68 countries around the globe. The company operates a network of nine strategically located manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe, and operates three technology centres in Almere (The Netherlands), Savannah (Georgia) and Shanghai (China).
 
Fogarty commented, "Given the renewable nature of Arizona Chemical's product and technology offerings, the complementary growth we foresee can be accomplished while reducing our overall exposure to hydrocarbon-based feedstocks.”