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Bain Capital Private Equity and Cinven to acquire Lonza Specialty Ingredients

Bain Capital Private Equity (Bain Capital) and Cinven (the consortium) have entered into definitive agreements to acquire Lonza Specialty Ingredients (LSI), a division of Lonza AG, for a total enterprise value of CHF4.2 billion.

LSI is a world-leading provider of specialty chemicals for microbial control solutions, used to eliminate or control harmful and unwanted micro-organisms. LSI’s products are critical ingredients in disinfectants, preservatives, sanitisers, personal care products, as well as coatings and other industrial uses. The business also produces a range of other specialty chemicals, centred around its unique production facility in Switzerland.
 
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, LSI has approximately 2,800 employees, 11 R&D centres and 17 manufacturing sites across the world. The business serves circa 5,300 customers across a wide range of end-markets.
 
Pontus Pettersson, Partner at Cinven, says: “Cinven and Bain Capital are delighted to invest in LSI, as a global leader in a specialty chemicals category that serves a critical need for society, across a broad range of end-markets.

“LSI enjoys a strong market position globally, underpinned by deep customer relationships, a continuous track record of innovation and product development, and extensive regulatory capabilities.”
 
David Danon, Managing Director at Bain Capital, adds: “LSI has multiple attractive growth opportunities as the leading global player in the growing market for microbial control. Our strategy is to reinforce the company’s market position, to accelerate growth through further investment in R&D and innovation, and to use LSI as a platform for further industry consolidation, in line with Bain Capital’s and Cinven’s strategies in other sectors.”
 
The consortium is committed to growing businesses responsibly, and recognises the importance of the environmental, regulatory and stakeholder responsibilities of LSI. Both Bain Capital and Cinven have a strong track record of growing industrial companies in Europe and North America, as well as successfully carving out businesses in an efficient, seamless manner for all stakeholders. The consortium intends to collaborate closely with Lonza AG going forward (notably at the Visp site), as well as with employee representative bodies in Switzerland and across the group, and to become the employer of choice in this sector.
 
The transaction is expected to close in H2 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.
 
Advisors to the consortium include: Kirkland & Ellis, Freshfields, Lenz & Staehelin (legal); Ernst & Young (financial, tax); Boston Consulting Group (commercial); Alvarez & Marsal (operations); ERM (environment, regulation); Nexant (technical); The Valence Group of Piper Sandler, Opus Corporate Finance, Trumont (M&A).

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