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Arxada Nears Deal for Enviro Tech at Hefty Multiple

Published: January 25th, 2022
Bain- and Cinven-backed chemicals company Arxada AG is near a deal for Enviro Tech after a Capstone Partners-run auction.

Specialty chemicals company Arxada AG, the former Lonza Group AG specialty ingredients division now owned by Bain Capital LLC and Cinven Ltd., appears set to capture Enviro Tech Chemical Services Inc. at auction, The Deal has learned.

Four bidders — Arxada, Danaher Corp. (DHR), Arsenal Capital Partners LP and Arcline Investment Management LP — made it to the final stages of a Capstone Partners LLC-run process for the family-owned disinfectants maker, but Arxada has emerged victorious, two sources familiar with the process said.

The deal is shaping up to value Enviro Tech at a multiple between 15 and 20 times Ebitda of $35 million to $40 million, one of the people added. At 15 times, a deal for Enviro Tech could land in the range of $525 million to $600 million, at least. And at 20 times the company could be valued as high as $800 million.

The exact timing of the deal’s announcement could not be learned, but upon conclusion it would mark another noteworthy transaction for the specialty chemicals space, where auctions have resulted in mid-teens multiples quite a few times in 2021.

Excluding synergies, SK Capital Partners LP’s sale of Niagara Falls, N.Y.-based preservatives maker Niacet Corp. came to 15.4 times Ebitda of $66 million, while the sale of Ashland Global Holdings Inc.’s (ASH) performance adhesives business to Arkema SA in August came in at around 20 times the target’s 2021 Ebitda of $82 million.

The Deal reported Nov. 15 that Enviro Tech was under exclusivity with a strategic would-be buyer following Capstone’s process and that Arxada was expected to be involved following its Nov. 3 purchase of U.S. coatings and additives specialist Troy Corp. for 4.2 billion Swiss francs ($4.6 billion).

Bain and Cinven agreed to acquire Lonza’s specialty ingredients division for $4.67 billion in February and rebranded the business to Arxada after closing the deal in July. Bank of America Corp. and UBS Investment Bank advised Lonza on the sale of Arxada to Bain and Cinven, while the PE firms tapped Piper Sandler Cos. for advice on the platform purchase and the Troy add-on.

Enviro Tech was founded in 1991 in Modesto, Calif., by CEO and president Mike Harvey.

Enviro Tech officials didn’t return requests for comment. A Capstone official declined requests for comment. An Arxada representative did not respond to a request for comment. Arsenal, Danaher and Arcline representatives did not return requests for comment.

Editor’s note: The original version of this article was published earlier on The Deal’s premium subscription website. For access, log in to TheDeal.com or request a free trial.

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