MILWAUKEE (March 4, 2014) – Grace Matthews, Inc. and Silbond Holdings, LLC announced today that Silbond Corporation has been acquired by Evonik Industries AG. Grace Matthews advised Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based O2 Investment Partners, LLC, and its affiliate, Silbond Holdings, LLC on the transaction.
O2 Investment Partners, along with Centerfield Capital Partners and Silbond’s management team, acquired Silbond in 2010. After initial meetings in 2012, Silbond Holdings engaged Grace Matthews in a long-term advisory role to help prepare the company for a sale.
As a leader in the field of specialty silicate materials, Silbond attracted a high level of interest from a number of potential strategic and private equity buyers. Over the course of its engagement with Silbond, Grace Matthews worked with the owners and management to navigate through a series of challenging discussions with multiple interested parties. With significant expected synergies and complementary geographic locations and product lines, Evonik Industries successfully acquired Silbond Corporation in February 2014.
“With its full line of high-purity specialty silicates, Silbond complements Evonik’s functional silanes business like a missing piece of a puzzle. The strategic fit between the two companies could not be stronger, and both the buyer and seller believe that the combined businesses will provide greater efficiencies and higher levels of service for the end markets,” said Kevin Yttre, Managing Director at Grace Matthews.
“Grace Matthews identified an excellent strategic partner for Silbond at an attractive valuation, and executed a highly disciplined process in this transaction”, said Todd Fink, a Managing Partner of O2 Investment Partners.
ABOUT SILBOND CORPORATION
Silbond Corporation, located in Weston, MI, is a leading commercial producer and distributor of tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS). Silbond offers a full line of TEOS products as well as custom formulations developed for specific customer needs. Silbond serves a broad portfolio of global industries, including consumer electronics and semiconductors, investment casting, protective paints and coatings, as well as other chemical processing industries. Silbond produces TEOS in a unique and inherently clean direct reaction process utilizing silicon metal and ethanol. This process allows Silbond to consistently meet the highest requirement for purity, customer service and technical support.
ABOUT EVONIK INDUSTRIES
Evonik Industries AG, headquartered in Essen, Germany, is one of the world’s leading specialty chemicals companies. Evonik operates through the following segments: Consumer, Health and Nutrition, Resource Efficiency, and Specialty Chemicals. Evonik benefits specifically from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.
ABOUT GRACE MATTHEWS
Grace Matthews, Inc., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based investment bank, provides merger, acquisition and corporate finance advisory services to private and public companies. Grace Matthews’ chemical practice is known globally for completing successful chemical industry transactions dating back to the early 1990s. Grace Matthews’ principals have completed over 100 transactions involving global corporations such as Akzo Nobel, 3M, DuPont, Sherwin-Williams, PPG Industries, Ashland, Ceradyne, DSM, ICI, Borregaard, Air Products, Landec Corporation, The Home Depot, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Atofina Chemicals, Brush Engineered Materials, Becker Industrial Coatings, RPM International, Courtaulds, Domino Sugar, and Chr. Hansen Laboratories. For more detailed information on Grace Matthews, Inc., visit www.gracematthews.com.
CONTACT
Kevin Yttre, Managing Director
kyttre@gracematthews.com
414-278-1120
Grace Matthews’ goal is to help business owners, corporate managers, and other stakeholders unlock the value of their businesses by employing strategies that maximize value and achieve other business objectives.