Arkema buys Dutch sealant maker Den Braven for Euro 485 mn

French specialty chemicals major Arkema has agreed to acquire Den Braven, the Netherlands-based sealants manufacturer for insulation and construction in Europe, from private equity firm Egeria in a deal valued at Euro 485 million (about $ 534 million). Through this acquisition, Arkema is actively pursuing the development of its high performance materials segment which should account for 50 percent of the Group’s sales by 2020. 

With Euro 350 million estimated sales for 2016 and 8 production sites around the world, Den Braven offers an extensive range of sealing, bonding and foam solutions for construction professionals as well as industry. 

With this acquisition, Bostik, Arkema’s subsidiary that makes adhesive, will reinforce its offering in the insulation and construction markets, and speed up its growth thanks to the excellent entry point which these product ranges represent in emerging countries, in particular in Asia. 

“The excellent geographic, technological and commercial fit will help create a global leader in the high performance sealants market which grows on average at 3-4 percent a year, supported in particular by new regulations to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and by the growing use of these products in emerging countries,” said Arkema in a press release.

This project also represents a major step in the development of adhesives within the Group. Given the successful integration of Bostik and the significant increase in its results, Arkema has decided to seize this unique opportunity for consolidation in an adhesives and sealants market that is still highly fragmented. 

By offering significant synergies of at least Euro 30 million through procurement globalisation, a more comprehensive product offering, and a geographic and technological fit, Den Braven’s integration will be a new milestone towards achieving the target to double Bostik’s EBITDA by 2020 compared to 2014. Hence it comforts the Group’s confidence in Bostik’s development potential and supports Arkema’s 2017 and 2020 targets. Closing is expected to take place in the last quarter of 2016.