Toray announces that it has reached an agreement with Koninklijke Ten Cate ( KTC; Almelo, Netherlands) to purchase the entire share of its subsidiary TenCate Advanced Composites Holding (TCAC), a Dutch carbon fiber composite material manufacturer. The companies plan to sign the agreement in March, it is subject to change as it is conditional upon completing the discussions with the works council. The share purchase is planned in second half of 2018, but this is also subject to change as it is conditional upon obtaining the approvals from regulatory authorities, according to Toray.
Toray states that the global carbon fiber business field has been expanding steadily led by the demand for applications such as aircraft along with environment and energy including windmill blades for wind power generation. Toray adds that in accordance with its medium-term management program Project AP-G 2019, it is pursuing business expansion and market development of the carbon fiber business as one of the core businesses under the project.
Toray says that it has already a large number of transactions in the carbon fiber business for aerospace application. However, Toray was facing the challenge of further technology development in diverse fields including thermoplastic prepreg in addition to the existing thermoset prepreg and the establishment of a business base to respond to the anticipated expansion in demand in aircraft applications.
TCAC is a prepreg producer with its main manufacturing bases in Europe and the United States and has a track record of widely supplying thermoplastic prepreg and high heat resistance thermoset resin materials. TCAC is a global leading company of carbon fiber intermediate materials using thermoplastic resins, adds Toray. Toray adds that the acquisition is expected to generate significant synergies by combining the product lineup in which TCAC specializes with the broad range of carbon fiber as well as polymer technologies.
J.P. Morgan Securities acted as exclusive financial advisor and Clifford Chance LLP acted as legal advisor to TenCate. Nomura Securities Co. Ltd. acted as financial advisor to Toray, according to KTC.
Article source: chemweek.com