Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd and private equity firm The Carlyle Group (Carlyle) have acquired Netherlands-based paints and coatings company AkzoNobel's specialty chemical business for 10.1 billion euros (US$12.52 billion).
AkzoNobel says in a March 27 statement that financing for the investment will come from two Carlyle funds, GIC and other co-investors. It did not provide a breakdown of the shareholding.
A GIC spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions from Asia Asset Management (AAM).
A person with knowledge of the deal tells AAM that GIC only has a minority stake but declined to provide the specific figure.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
AkzoNobel's specialty chemical business produces ingredients used in soaps and pesticides. The business recorded an 8% growth in pre-tax profit to 620 million euros between January 1 and December 31, 2017, according to AkzoNobel’s annual report. Its revenue was up 4% to 4.9 billion euros.
Carlyle is "proud to support a business with such a strong heritage", according to its managing directors, Martin Sumner and Zeina Bain.
"We are committed to growing the business... We look forward to working with the management team to transition the business to a successful independent company," they say in the statement.
Werner Fuhrmann, chief executive officer of AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals, adds that the deal provides the business "an opportunity to achieve its full potential".
Carlyle had assets under management (AUM) of US$195 billion at the end of last year.
GIC does not publish its AUM data, but according to the US-based Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, the company had AUM of $359 billion as at June 30, 2017.