Mergers & Acquisitions

October 18, 2023

VPC Announcement

VPC Group Inc.VPC Group Inc. 2,340 followers2,340 followers

VPC Group Acquires Prestige Fabricators in Strategic Expansion into US Markets.

VPC Group, a leader in the production of both foam and fiber materials has successfully acquired the assets of Klaussner’s subsidiary, Prestige Fabricators, as part of Klaussner’s asset liquidation.
 
This acquisition marks a significant milestone in VPC Group’s growth strategy, enabling them to expand their foam pouring and fabrication footprint beyond its historical origins of Canada, into the US market.
 
With a strong reputation as a customer centric partner in the bedding and furniture industry, VPC Group is known for its commitment to quality and service and has emerged as the market leader in North America.
 
The acquisition of Prestige Fabricators reinforces their position in the industry, both in Canada and the United States.
 
VPC Group currently operates 20 state-of-the-art facilities across North America. This includes foam pouring, foam fabrication and fiber processing facilities.
 
The addition of Prestige Fabricators and their recent acquisition of Fibrix LLC, clearly demonstrates VPC’s commitment to expanding their product offerings and reach in the North American market.
 
The acquisition of Prestige Fabricators will expand VPC footprint and strengthen and enhance VPC Group’s capabilities to better serve their customers with a broader range of foam products.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7119717013287038976/

October 12, 2023

Prestige Update

Business Court judge approves sale of Klaussner business unit

An N.C. Business Court judge approved on Oct. 2 a Canadian home furnishings manufacturer’s $7 million offer for the Prestige Fabricators business unit of defunct Klaussner Furniture Industries Inc. of Asheboro.

As part of the transaction, VPC Foam USA Inc. would acquire the leases for the 2206 Dumont St. and 905 N.C. South 49 facilities in Asheboro.

The Business Court has oversight of the Prestige properties via a complaint filed in the court by Bank of America Corp. related to its Klaussner loans.

VPC would enter into new leases for both facilities effective with the closing dale of the overall sale. VPC said in its offer that it “intends to operate the Prestige business and will hire a substantial number of former employees to work in the business.”

Klaussner listed in its WARN notice to the N.C. Commerce Department having 127 at its 905 N.C. 49 South, Asheboro plant and 26 at its 2206 Dumont St. plant.

Klaussner entered into federal bankruptcy protection on Aug. 8, immediately shutting down operations and is letting go of 893 employees following an inability to access additional funding from its lender. Klaussner had been in business since 1963.

Klaussner said the tipping point for the decision was that its lending source “unexpectedly refused to continue to fund the company’s operations. This outcome was not reasonably foreseeable, but due to these unexpected circumstances, Klaussner can no longer sustain its operations.”

rcraver@wsjournal.com

https://journalnow.com/news/state-regional/business/business-court-judge-approves-sale-of-klaussner-business-unit/article_15d9e5ce-66ab-11ee-b530-a30630a9125f.html

October 9, 2023

Q3 Chemical M&A: Everchem Made The List

Chemical Deal Results

SellerBuyerBusinessDate
Belle ChemicalArclinmethylamines and derivatives3rd Quarter 2023
EastmanIneosTexas City TX site (acetic acid) – $490v3rd Quarter 2023
M. HollandInterfacial (Nagase)3D Printing Group3rd Quarter 2023
TredegarOben GroupTerphane flexible packaging films – $152s/$116v3rd Quarter 2023
LRBG ChemicalsBakelite Syntheticsliquid phenolic resins, amino resins and amino spray-dried powdered resins3rd Quarter 2023
M. HollandRavagodistribution of thermoplastic resins and ancillary materials (acquisition of majority stake) – $1,500s3rd Quarter 2023
DuPontTJC80.1% stake in Delrin acetal homopolymer business – $1,800v3rd Quarter 2023
Advanced Color TechnologiesTechmercolor and additive compounds3rd Quarter 2023
Specialty Products InternationalEverchemtechnologies for polyurethane foams and elastomers3rd Quarter 2023
Chase CorporationKKRacquisition of whole company (adhesives, sealants, additives, industrial tapes, corrosion protection and waterproofing) – $326s/$1,300v3rd Quarter 2023
SellerBuyerBusinessDate
Thiessen Team USASikashotcrete and grouting products for the mining industr33rd Quarter 2023

You can tell M&A is slow this quarter!

http://www.chemicaldeals.com/Results.aspx?searchtext=&quarter=3rd+Quarter+2023

October 9, 2023

A Little About Adnoc

Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc bets on global expansion

Energy major seeks opportunities in renewables, LNG and others



By Reuters

Published: Mon 9 Oct 2023, 8:13 PM

The UAE is refashioning state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in the image of an international oil major by stepping up its global expansion and finding new revenue streams.

As part of this strategy, Adnoc told Reuters it was actively pursuing select opportunities in the areas of renewable energy, gas, petrochemicals and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Two people with knowledge of the matter said the company was on the hunt for LNG assets in Africa and was considering buying Galp’s 10 per cent stake in a multi-billion-dollar natural gas project in the Rovuma basin off the coast of Mozambique.

Adnoc has already bought a stake in an Azerbaijani gas field, has put in an offer with BP for a stake in Israeli gas producer NewMed Energy , has opened takeover talks with German plastics maker Covestro and is looking to create a $20 billion chemicals giant with Austria’s OMV.

The state-owned company also told Reuters it was investing in energy trading. “As part of our international growth strategy, we are focused on expanding our presence in renewables, gas, LNG and chemicals, and are actively pursuing select opportunities, while also investing in and growing our trading capabilities,” an Adnoc spokesperson said in response to written questions.

Adnoc has two trading arms, both set up in 2020: Adnoc Trading, which is focused on crude oil, and Adnoc Global Trading, a joint venture with Italy’s Eni and OMV which is more focused on refined products.

While Adnoc’s deal-making dates back to 2017 when it listed its fuel distribution unit, the pace of change accelerated after a board meeting in November. The board brought forward to 2027 plans to up production capacity to 5 million barrels per day and also approved a five-year business plan and capital spending of $150 billion. “The thinking is to move away from a traditional state oil firm model to more like an IOC (international oil company),” a source with knowledge of the matter said.

The transformation at Adnoc is similar to ongoing changes at state-owned energy giants in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The national energy champions – Adnoc, Saudia Arabia’s Aramco and QatarEnergy – drive their economies but were traditionally focused on oil and gas production at home.

Now, as the transition to renewable energy accelerates, the timeline is shortening for the national oil companies (NOCs) to monetise their reserves and they are also doubling-down on opportunities further afield.

To propel its changes, Adnoc has hired more than 3,370 staff, including 28 senior managers, so far this year from companies such as global energy firms, trading houses, banks and consultancies, according to data on employment network LinkedIn.

LinkedIn data shows Adnoc’s headcount is up 13 per cent this year, and by a quarter over the past two years, to about 32,750. The actual number, however, which Adnoc has never disclosed, is now over 40,000, one person familiar with the matter said. “As we continue to grow our business, we are creating exciting opportunities for our talented workforce as we accelerate the transformation, decarbonisation of and future-proof our company,” the Adnoc spokesperson said in response to questions about hiring.

Michele Fiorentino, who was chief investment officer from 2017-2020, confirmed to Reuters that he recently returned to Adnoc from US oil services firm Baker Hughes as executive vice president for low carbon solutions and business development.

Other recent hires include Bart Cornelissen, who left Deloitte to become Adnoc’s senior vice president for group strategy and portfolio last month, according to LinkedIn.

Michael Hafner, a long-time investment banker in the energy sector – most recently at Greenhill & Co and previously at Deutsche Bank and UBS – also joined Adnoc last month as a senior adviser to the executive office for business development.

Other senior managers have recently been hired from Western firms including Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Natixis , Litasco, Borealis, TotalEnergies, Shell and Eni, according to LinkedIn.

Recent senior hires for Adnoc’s trading arms include alumni of Gunvor, Litasco, Shell and TotalEnergies, the employment network showed.

The UAE firm was looking to buy energy trader Gunvor Group last year but talks fell apart because Adnoc wanted a controlling stake and Gunvor’s shareholder only wanted to cede a minority, sources familiar with the matter have said.

“Adnoc wants to expand in Europe, whether it was through Gunvor or organically,” a source with knowledge of the matter said. “Now that the Gunvor deal is off the table, it will focus on organic growth.”

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/abu-dhabis-adnoc-bets-on-global-expansion

October 8, 2023

VPC To Buy Prestige Fabricators

VPC Group USA plans to buy former Klaussner subsidiary Prestige Fabricators

by Thomas Russell

Sale would reopen 2 former foam production plants that were closed Aug. 7 when Klaussner also ceased operations

ASHEBORO, N.C. — VPC Group USA, a producer of foam and fiber material, is planning to purchase Klaussner subsidiary Prestige Fabricators for about $7 million as part of a sale of the company’s assets.

The company has sought court approval to buy the assets of Prestige, which also produces foam materials for upholstery. As part of the purchase, it plans to continue the operations, which employed about 27 at its foam plant and 30 at its fabrication plant prior to their closing on Aug. 7. VPC plans to extend offers of employment to some of these workers.

When it closed on Aug. 7, Prestige effectively ceased operations at two foam manufacturing facilities, including a foam plant and a fabrication plant in Randolph County, North Carolina, where Klaussner was based. Klaussner also ceased operations Aug. 7, putting 884 people out of work, including those employed by Prestige. The defunct company went into receivership soon after.

Legal sources describe a receivership as a court-appointed tool that helps creditors recover funds that are owed to them while also helping companies avoid a bankruptcy. This process also is said to help make it easier for a lender to collect funds owed to them in the event a borrow defaults on a loan.

“Based on VPC’s reputation as an industry leading foam manufacturer, the receiver believes that VPC has made a good faith offer and has the ability to consummate the transaction,” Focus Management Group, the general receiver for Klaussner, and Focus agent Michael Grau said in a court filing earlier this month. The deadline for objections to the purchase is 5 p.m. Sept. 28 and the closing date has been scheduled for Oct. 6.

The court filing obtained by Home News Now said that about seven parties expressed interest in Prestige and six executed nondisclosure agreements. Two of those submitted purchase offers.

VPC’s offer was accepted as part of the negotiations and it included a deposit of 10% of the proposed purchase price, with $50,000 as a nonrefundable portion. VPC proposes a cash closing with the intent to acquire substantially all of Prestige’s assets. This includes machinery and equipment, accounts receivable, assignable contracts, personal property leases identified by the purchaser, technology and intellectual property and all proprietary rights to the sellers’ ERP system, to name several key fixed assets.

The filing by the receiver states that “the court should approve the sale to VPC and authorize the parties to enter into the asset purchase agreement because the sale is in the best interest of the receivership estate, its creditors and other interested parties. … VPC’s purchase of the Prestige assets would yield $7 million to the receivership estate, which in the receiver’s business judgment is substantially more than a liquidation process, including more value than prior appraisals have indicated on a liquidation basis accounting for costs of sale.”

It added that VPC’s experience as a foam manufacturer “will aid VPC in the rehiring of former employees that were terminated when Prestige ceased operations in August. Such employment opportunities would likely be unavailable in a liquidation process or if the Prestige assets were otherwise sold to a buyer who did not plan to operate the Prestige business as a going concern. If VPC is able to take over the business operations pursuant to the proposed sale, the impact on the individuals previously employed by Prestige will be mitigated.”