FDBusiness.com

Chinese chemicals group ChemChina has agreed to acquire KraussMaffei Group from Onex Corporation for a sum of €925m.

KraussMaffei is a global manufacturer of high-quality machinery and systems for producing and processing plastics and rubber. The transaction is expected to accelerate the company’s growth in light of potential business synergies, it said, and increase the size of its global workforce.

“With ChemChina, we have found a strategic and long-term oriented investor who has been interested in our company for many years,” said KraussMaffei CEO Frank Stieler.

“Following Onex’s acquisition in late 2012, KraussMaffei Group has achieved strong growth and had a very successful year in 2015. As part of ChemChina, we expect to considerably accelerate our growth strategy, especially in China and Asia, and to further strengthen the company in Germany and Europe.

“Accelerated growth will have a sustained positive impact for the company globally. Our company has a strong foundation and we will continue to build on our strengths, and create new jobs around the world.”

ChemChina chairman Jianxin Ren added: “We are strengthening our company with one of the leading global engineering groups, encompassing a 178-year corporate history. In doing so, we expect that KraussMaffei Group will maintain its identity and independence. We are investing in the company’s strong management team and its technological expertise, which we believe will benefit our Chinese subsidiaries and position the chemical machinery business of ChemChina, which builds and sells equipment for the rubber and chemical industry, to become a pioneer in achieving the ‘Made in China 2025’ programme, which aims to enhance the Chinese industry. The growth potential of the KraussMaffei Group is tremendous, especially through improved access to the Chinese market, which we can make possible. We expect trends in the automotive industry towards advanced manufacturing and lightweight components will provide a huge development opportunity for the high-end plastic injection molding industry. Together, ChemChina and the KraussMaffei Group will be well positioned for future growth.”

KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH is a manufacturer for injection molding machines, machines for plastics extrusion technology and reaction process machinery, what means polyurethane foaming.

ChemChina is China’s largest chemicals group, having generated revenues of around €37bn in 2015. The group operates internationally and has a global expansion strategy, having acquired or invested in companies in Italy, France, Norway, the UK and Singapore in the last few years, with the most recent acquisition being tyre manufacturer Pirelli.