Clariant has reached definitive agreements for the divestment of its Pigments business to a consortium of Heubach Group and SK Capital Partners at an Enterprise Value of 805 million to 855 million Swiss francs on a cash and debt free basis, depending on an earn-out payment of 50 million Swiss francs contingent on the 2021 financial performance of Clariant’s Pigments business.

At the time of closing of the transaction, Clariant will reinvest to become a 20% shareholder alongside Heubach and SK Capital in the ultimate holding company. The combined business will be a global pigments player with approximately 3,000 employees generating more than 900 million euros in annual sales and strong service and production capabilities across the globe. The reinvestment enables Clariant to further benefit from the improving profitability of the Pigments business resulting from the initiated efficiency program and to participate in the future growth opportunities as well as synergies of the combination with the Heubach Pigments business. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

Once completed, Clariant will have finalized its intended divestments as part of its portfolio upgrade, having previously divested the Healthcare Packaging and Masterbatches businesses. The Pigments divestment concludes Clariant’s transformation into a high value specialty chemical company with above-market growth, higher profitability, and stronger cash generation. The proceeds of the Pigments divestment will be used to invest into growth projects within the core Business Areas, execute the strategy along sustainability and innovation, fund the performance improvement programs as well as strengthen Clariant’s balance sheet and fund the reinvestment into the Clariant-Heubach combined Pigments business.