LONDON—Caledonia Investments P.L.C. has sold its stake in Amber Chemical Co. Ltd. to ICM Corp. Inc.—a U.S.-based maker of silicone defoamers, emulsions and polymers for the automotive, coatings, industrial and personal care sectors.
Bridgewater, England-based Amber Chemical supplies silicone-based products, including adhesives, sealants, anti-foams, coatings, lubricants, molding rubber and fluids. Its group companies are ACC Silicones, Amber Silicones (Tianjin), Quantum Silicones, Siovation and Treco S.r.l.
ICM, headquartered in Cassopolis, Mich., is backed by Century Park Capital Partners, a U.S. equity firm that acquired ICM from its founder in January 2012.
“The combination of ICM and Amber Chemical with its five operating subsidiaries will greatly expand the breadth of new products and services that ICM offers to the marketplace,” said David Smith, CEO of ICM Products, in a statement from Century Park Capital.
Caledonia said it realized $38.5 million from the sale—a premium of more than 50 percent on its valuation of Amber at on Sept. 30, 2013 of $25.4 million. Proceeds from the sale are in addition to the $32.6 million of capital and dividend receipts realized from Amber since Dec. 1, 2010, the firm added.
"Amber has been owned by Caledonia for over 50 years during which time the business has developed into a market leading specialty silicones business,” said Duncan Johnson, Caledonia's head of unquoted investments.
"Over the last eight years, Amber has transformed itself into a global specialty silicones business that is focused on delivering the highest level of service to its customers," added Joachim Roeser, Amber's CEO, who is stepping down after the sale.