Holding group CCMP Capital Advisors – currently the owner of machinery maker Milacron (Cincinnati, Ohio / USA; www.milacron.com) – plans to put close to 50% of the company’s shares up for sale at the New York stock exchange. CCMP intends to keep more than half of the shares.

However, in its elaborate filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the company did not specify the exact extent of the offering nor the proposed price range. The money generated by the ipo is to be used for "general company expenses" – including a reduction of debt, which amounted to slightly more than USD 1 bn in late 2014.

Milacron posted sales of USD 1.21 bn in 2014, with most revenues generated by its plastics machinery and affiliated businesses. USD 676m in sales were posted by its Advanced Plastics Processing Technologies unit, which includes injection moulding machines, extruders and blow moulding machines, while another USD 407m were generated by its Melt Delivery and Control Systems unit, which includes hot-melt systems. The remaining USD 129m were posted by Milacron’s Fluid Technologies division.

Whereas 2014 sales rose year-on-year, increasing by almost one-fifth to USD 1.03 bn, results did not fare as well. While Milacron reported a 2014 EBITDA of USD 199m (2013: USD 166m), after interest and amortization, it posted a net loss of about USD 15m. The company’s 2013 losses reached almost USD 25m.

The losses are probably partly related to the bad performance of injection moulding machinery producer Ferromatik Milacron (Malterdingen / Germany; www.ferromatik.com), the group’s second largest global plant – see also Plasteurope.com of 16.12.2014. It appears that the German subsidiary has yet to recover from weaker sales in both North America and Europe, caused predominantly by the decline in the US automotive industry, as a result of which the US affiliate had to declare bankruptcy in 2009. The company apparently has not yet recovered from this blow.

Milacron continues to search for solutions to its predicament in the emerging markets of Central America, China, India and Africa, where it has already carved out a promising market position. Currently about 52% of sales are generated in North America, while Europe accounts for 21%. China and India hold shares of 9% and 7% respectively.