British private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP has finally sold off U.K. chemicals producer Lucite International Group Ltd. On Nov. 11, Japan's Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd. announced that it is acquiring Lucite for $1.6 billion. Charterhouse, the majority owner of Lucite since 1999, tried to auction off Lucite in 2006 for £1.4 billion (then worth about $2.5 billion).

Then as now, Charterhouse received advice from a London-based Deutsche Bank AG team. Bankers on the current team include Adam Bagshaw, a European telecom specialist; Richard Sheppard, an M&A banker; Arkadi Nachimowski, head of European chemicals; Matthias Russwurm from leveraged finance; and Nicholas Gaynor and William Maltby, both from financial sponsors. Also working on the Mitsubishi deal for the sellers was Merrill Lynch & Co.'s Philip Noblet, co-head of financial sponsors for Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and Simon Mackenzie-Smith, who is head of U.K. investment banking. For legal advice, the seller tapped Hammonds LLP corporate partners James McKay and Mark Robson in London.

Mitsubishi Rayon turned to the Credit Suisse Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. Ltd. for financial advice. Credit Suisse Tokyo-based banker Taiji Okusu led the deal for Mitsubishi Rayon, along with his London counterparts James Janoskey and Andrew Dench.

Mitsubishi Rayon has been eyeing Lucite for 10 years, Okusu says. Credit Suisse was hired in 2006 to advise the company in the auction for Lucite after winning a beauty contest. Mitsubishi Rayon's pursuit ended after Charterhouse dropped the auction. The Japanese company jumped into the game again when Credit Suisse's bankers heard that Charterhouse planned to sell Lucite in 2009. After sharing the information with its client, Credit Suisse's team was hired again to help Mitsubishi Rayon court Lucite.

Talks took longer than usual, partly because the Charterhouse partner in charge of the Lucite account, Geoff Arbuthnott, retired in March and was replaced by James Arnell. For legal advice Mitsubishi Rayon turned to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP's co-head of M&A, Toby Myerson in New York.

Mitubishi Rayon is paying cash for Lucite with the help of a loan from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.