ICM acquires Amber Chemical silicones group

ERJ staff report (PR)

London – Caledonia Investments plc has sold its long-held stake in Amber Chemical Co. Ltd to ICM Corp. Inc. – a US-based maker of silicone defoamers, emulsions and polymers for the automotive, coatings, industrial and personal care sectors.

Bridgwater, UK-based Amber Chemical supplies silicone-based products, including adhesives, sealants, anti-foams, coatings, lubricants, moulding rubber and fluids. Its group companies are ACC Silicones, Amber Silicones (Tianjin), Quantum Silicones, Siovation and Treco Srl.

Cassopolis, Michigan-headquartered ICM is backed by Century Park Capital Partners, a US private equity firm that acquired ICM from its founder in January 2012.

“The combination of ICM and Amber Chemical with its five operating subsidiaries will greatly expand the breadth of new products and services that ICM offers to the marketplace,” said David Smith, CEO of ICM Products, in a statement from Century Park Capital.

Caledonia said it realised £23m (€27.9m) from the sale – a premium of more than 50 percent on its valuation of Amber at 30 September 2013 of £15.2m (€18.4m). The proceeds from the sale are in addition to the £19.5m (€23.6m) of capital and dividend receipts realised from Amber since 1 December 2010, the London Stock Exchange-listed firm added.

"Amber has been owned by Caledonia for over 50 years during which time the business has developed into a market leading speciality silicones business,” commented Duncan Johnson, Caledonia's head of unquoted investments.

"Over the last eight years, Amber has transformed itself into a global speciality silicones business that is focused on delivering the highest level of service to its customers," added Joachim Roeser, Amber's CEO, who is stepping down after the sale.