Bridgepoint To Buy CABB From AXA Private Equity

AXA Private Equity said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell CABB, a German chemicals company, to Bridgepoint Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed. Bridgepoint is a UK buyout shop.

PRESS RELEASE

AXA Private Equity, the leading European diversified private equity firm in Europe, has signed an agreement for the sale of the fine chemicals company CABB to the private equity firm Bridgepoint. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price or further details of the transaction.
AXA Private Equity acquired the company headquartered in Sulzbach, Germany in 2007. CABB revenues have doubled to € 311 million since the takeover by AXA Private Equity. Shortly after the purchase, CABB acquired SF Chem located in Pratteln near Basel, Switzerland with support of AXA Private Equity. A short time later, CABB purchased Karavati in India, thereby opening up the Asian market to CABB.
CABB is one of the world’s leading suppliers of chemical building blocks based on chlorine and acetic acid and the world market leader in monochloroacetic acid (MCAA), an essential component used in a wide variety of applications ranging from herbicides and personal care to the food industry. It is also a leading supplier of custom solutions for international companies engaged in agrochemistry as well as for the global food, pharmaceutical and specialty chemical industries. The company has a total of four production facilities, two of them located in Germany.
“AXA Private Equity put its network, capital and expertise to work in order to elevate CABB to a leading position on the global market,” said Martin Wienkenhöver, Chief Executive Officer of CABB. The merger with former Hoechst affiliate SF Chem along with the purchase of Karnavati in India contributed significantly to the execution of the successful growth strategy, Wienkenhöver said. “We remain ambitious for the future growth of our business and look forward to working with our new investor Bridgepoint in continuing the path pursued under AXA Private Equity to realise the full strategic value of the company”, Wienkenhöver added.
“In past years CABB has become a larger and even more successful company,” said Christof Namenyi, Managing Director of AXA Private Equity Deutschland. “The CAAB example shows that we do what we say we will do.Our focus is not financial engineering, we change companies, we enlarge them and make them more competitive.”

Parties Involved
M&A:                                    Rothschild GmbH
Legal:                                    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Tax:                                        Ernst & Young GmbH
Accounting:                        Deloitte & Touche GmbH
Market:                                Arthur D. Little Benelux S.A. / N.V.

ABOUT AXA PRIVATE EQUITY
AXA Private Equity is a leading private equity firm with managed assets of USD 25 billion and an international reach across Europe, North America and Asia. The firm offers investors the full spectrum of private equity services for every market segment: direct funds, infrastructure financing, mid cap and small cap buyouts, venture capital, co-investments, fund of funds as well as mezzanine financing.
With offices in Paris, Frankfurt, London, New York, Singapore, Milan, Zurich and Vienna, AXA Private Equity supports the development and long-term growth of its portfolio companies with sustainable growth strategies and by granting them access to the AXA international network. AXA Private Equity has earned the trust of its investors by regularly supplying them with transparent performance data on its funds and portfolio companies.

AXA Private Equity, Global Investments the European way
www.axaprivateequity.com