VR Equitypartner and BIP Investment Partners sell LEUNA-Tenside to
Vantage Specialty Chemicals

Frankfurt am Main/November 23, 2018 - Frankfurt-based private equity firm VR Equitypartner and Luxembourg-based BIP Investment Partners have entered a definitive agreement to sell their joint portfolio company LEUNA-Tenside GmbH (Leuna/Saxony-Anhalt). The buyer is Vantage Specialty Chemicals Holdings, Inc. (Chicago/Illinois), a leading provider of naturally-derived ingredients focused on the personal care, food, consumer, and industrial end markets. As part of a succession solution for the company, the two equity investors acquired a majority interest in LEUNA-Tenside in 2015, when the former owner switched to the Advisory Board.

A global chemicals company, LEUNA-Tenside is a market leader in niche, specialty surfactant production. Surfactants are vital ingredients utilized in the manufacturing of a wide range of products for daily use across personal care, consumer goods, as well as industrial applications. LEUNA-Tenside GmbH was founded in 1995 as part of the management buyout of a business division of the former Leuna Werke and has various large-scale chemical plants on an area of around 100,000 m².

Christian Futterlieb, Managing Director of VR Equitypartner, comments: "When we invested in LEUNA-Tenside, the company was already quite future-oriented. Together with the management, we optimized the organizational structures, expanded the product portfolio on a targeted basis, invested in the commercial organization and thereby significantly further enhanced profitability." Jan Drees, member of the Executive Board of VR Equitypartner, adds: "Thanks to our joint efforts, LEUNA-Tenside is well positioned in the market today. The company enjoys an outstanding competitive edge thanks to its ability to pursue customized surfactant chemistry within a dynamic niche."

LEUNA-Tenside Managing Director Dr. Steve Döring especially emphasizes the successful collaboration with the previous shareholders: "VR Equitypartner and BIP Investment Partners played a major role in the successful implementation of the structural changes within the company," he notes. At the same time, he is already looking to the future: "For us, Vantage's interest in Leuna represents a strong validation of our work to date and a recognition of the tremendous opportunities available for the business which include enhanced access to the international markets, espacially to the US market, and numerous cross-selling opportunities. I am excited about working together with Vantage to continue to execute on the growth and expansion plans for this site, which is a very positive signal for our colleagues working here," he adds.

The agreement still requires the approval of the regulatory authorities.

VR Equitypartner GmbH in brief:

VR Equitypartner ranks as one of the leading private equity companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Commanding decades of experience, the company focuses on assisting medium-sized family companies in the strategic resolution of complex financing issues. Investments derive from growth and expansion financing as well as corporate succession and changes of shareholders. VR Equitypartner provides both majority and minority investments as well as mezzanine financing. As a subsidiary of DZ BANK, the leading institution for cooperative banks in Germany, VR Equitypartner consistently prioritises the sustainability of corporate development above short-term exit thinking. The VR Equitypartner portfolio currently comprises around 100 investments with an investment volume of EUR 500 million.

Further information is available online at www.vrep.de

Contact:

VR Equitypartner GmbH
Susanne Gremmler
Head of Marketing and Public Relations
Tel. 0049 69 710 476 482
susanne.gremmler@vrep.de