H.I.G. Europe's Haltermann Acquires PCL

Haltermann Holding GmbH has acquired Petrochem Carless Holdings Ltd, a UK-based refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals. Haltermann is a portfolio company of H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital.

H.I.G. Europe, the European arm of global private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, today announced that its portfolio company Haltermann Holding GmbH (“Haltermann”) has acquired Petrochem Carless Holdings Ltd (“PCL”), a leading UK-based refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals with 2012 revenues of over £350m.

PCL has developed a strong reputation in refining niche hydrocarbon streams which it takes in as the condensate by-product from North Sea oil and gas producers as well as from other global suppliers. Its products are used in industries as diverse as downstream chemicals, agrochemicals, oil and gas, consumer goods, printing, and automotive. It has established itself as a pivotal and trusted supplier into these industries and has grown substantially during the past years.

Haltermann is a German based producer of specialty hydrocarbons with a particular focus on pentanes, high purity hydrocarbons and test and reference fuels. Together, Haltermann and PCL will form a significant player in the European hydrocarbon speciality landscape.

Following the acquisition, Haltermann Holding will be renamed H·C·S Group (“HCS”) and will serve as the Holding company of PCL and Haltermann. For 2012, HCS had sales of approximately €650m and operates out of four state-of-the-art production sites in the UK and Germany. Customers will benefit from the highly synergistic transaction through increased supply chain security, wider product offerings and stronger support for global partnerships. As a larger pan European speciality oil and chemicals group, HCS will target organic growth in the wider global chemicals marketplace.

Paul Canning, Managing Director at H.I.G. Europe, commented: “With this milestone follow-on investment, H.I.G. Europe brings together two strong players in the European speciality hydrocarbon landscape. It is our goal to ensure that both companies continue their growth trajectory. This investment underlines H.I.G.’s investment strategy which focuses on supporting its portfolio companies to drive significant value creation through various growth and efficiency improvement initiatives.”

PCL and Haltermann are an almost perfect fit. With their common technology and raw material markets, and yet complementary sales patterns with regard to products and regions, they together will have a significantly enlarged product offering and regional coverage which we intend to leverage to generate strong growth and better serve our customers.”

Dr. Uwe Nickel, CEO of H·C·S Group, said: “This is a strong sign of trust from H.I.G. Europe in our development and in the growth prospects of the combined group. HCS aims to be a global partner for its customers. In building a true European player, we will use the best practices from both companies. The management teams and I are excited about the opportunities that this transaction offers to our companies.”

The acquisition of PCL is a follow-on investment for Haltermann which H.I.G. Europe acquired from Dow Chemical in July 2011. The H.I.G. deal team for this acquisition consisted of Paul Canning, Wolfgang Biedermann, Johannes Natterer, Alastair Mills, and Amer Khatoun.