BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 4, 2009)—The European Commission has cleared the sale of complete control of Columbian Chemicals Holding L.L.C. by private equity fund One Equity Partners L.P.
CCH produces and sells carbon black, which is used as a pigment and reinforcement in rubber and plastic products. The operation was examined under the simplified merger review procedure.
One Equity Partners, owned by JP Morgan Chase & Co., had been a minority shareholder of Columbian since 2006. In January it had agreed to buy the 66.8-percent interest in carbon black producer Columbian from DC Chemical Co. Ltd., of Seoul, South Korea.
Several published reports in Europe put the price of the acquisition at $150 million.