Middle market private equity firm One Equity Partners (OEP) is to sell the operating subsidiaries of Sonneborn Holdings, a manufacturer of specialty hydrocarbon chemicals, to a subsidiary of HollyFrontier Corporation (HFC), an independent petroleum refiner and marketer, for USD655 million.
The transaction is expected to close in 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Founded in 1903, Sonneborn manufactures highly purified white oil, petrolatum, microcrystalline wax, sodium sulfonate and compressor lubricants for personal care, pharmaceutical, food, polymer and metal working applications of 500-plus global customers. The company is headquartered in Parsippany, NJ and employs approximately 360 people worldwide with three production sites in the US and the Netherlands.
“We greatly appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Sonneborn management team lead by Paul Raymond, CEO, and the Board of Directors led by Jac Nasser as Chairman. The strategic initiatives that Sonneborn undertook during our partnership have clearly solidified its global leadership position,” says David Han, Senior Managing Director of OEP.
“We would like to thank OEP and the Board of Directors for their unwavering support of the growth initiatives that we identified together to capitalise globally on new market opportunities enabled by improvements in our manufacturing capacity and supply chain,” says Paul Raymond III, President and CEO of Sonneborn. “We look forward to continue to deliver significant value for our customers as we enter the next phase of our growth.”
Morgan Stanley & Co is acting as financial advisor and Baker McKenzie is serving as legal counsel to Sonneborn in connection with this transaction.
