A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
Negotiations to buy Cognis, the speciality chemicals unit of Henkel, may be drawing to a close as Schroder Ventures, the private equity investor, emerged as a front runner, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Sources close to the deal said Schroders, which is being backed by Goldman Sachs, would pay between E2.3bn and E2.5bn ($1.95bn-$2.1bn) for Cognis, about 6.4 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.
The sale, which is being handled by Merrill Lynch, would be one of the largest-ever leveraged buyouts in the chemicals sector, compared with the 1999 Cinven-Investcorp-backed buy-out of Avecia from Astra Zeneca for $2.1bn.
But the details had not been finalised and the deal could take up to a month to close, they said. Other groups believed to have entered bids for Cognis include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Advent International and CVC Capital Partners.
The disposal of Cognis, which generates about a quarter of the group's revenues, would free Henkel to focus on its consumer brands, which include Schwarzkopf hair products, Svit home dry cleaning products and Persil laundry products in Germany.