WOODLANDS, Texas—Materials maker Huntsman Corp. is acquiring CVC Thermoset Specialties for $300 million in an all-cash transaction.
CVC is a unit of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Emerald Performance Materials L.L.C. The business has annual sales of $115 million and operates production sites in Akron, along with Maple Shade, N.J.
The purchase price represents a multiple of 10 times adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, officials with Woodlands-based Huntsman said in a March 16 news release.
Materials made by CVC are used in markets for industrial composites, adhesives, coatings, automotive and aerospace. The transaction is expected to close around midyear 2020.
For Huntsman, the acquisition "brings valuable complementary technology breadth to our advanced materials portfolio, and its unique products will make systems using our class-leading epoxy-based materials even tougher, stronger and more durable," Advanced Materials President Scott Wright said in the release.
He added that Huntsman will use its existing asset footprint and routes to market in Europe and Asia to grow and globalize CVC's complementary product range.
Peter Huntsman, chairman, president and CEO, added in the release that "this bolt-on fits all the criteria we look for in acquisitions for our Advanced Materials division, including new technology, synergies and globalization opportunities."
"In these uncertain times, our financial strength will allow us to keep looking for these types of acquisitions, while at the same time maintain a conservative balance sheet and opportunistically repurchase shares," he said.
Huntsman has been very active in merger and acquisition markets since early 2018. In that year, the firm bought spray polyurethane foam insulation specialist Demilec Inc. of Arlington, Texas, for $350 million.
In December 2019, Huntsman signed an agreement to buy polyurethane spray foam maker Icynene-Lapolla of Mississauga, Ontario, for $350 million. That deal is expected to close in the first half of 2020.
In between those acquisitions, Huntsman sold its chemical intermediates and surfactants businesses to Indorama Ventures of Bangkok for $2 billion in August 2019. That move effectively removed Huntsman from the ethylene business both in the U.S. and globally.
Huntsman employs 9,000 worldwide and posted sales of almost $7 billion in 2019. The firm is a leading producer of polyurethanes and other specialty plastics and chemicals.