German speciality chemicals producer Evonik (Essen; www.evonik.com) has initiated the sale of its Performance Materials business unit. For an undisclosed amount, the initial parts – the Lülsdorf site and the associated cyanuric chloride business in Wesseling, Germany – are to be sold to investment group International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG, Luxembourg; www.ic-investors.com), which focuses on chemical companies, according to information from Evonik. The deal, which is still subject to approval by various bodies and authorities, is expected to go through as early as the middle of 2023.

Cyanuric chloride is an intermediate for the production of dyes, optical brighteners (for example for paper) and pesticides. The activities affected by the divestment, which generated sales of EUR 260 mn in 2022 with 600 employees, belong to the Functional Solutions sub-division within Evonik’s Performance Materials business unit, which also includes the activities for products of the C4 group and the business with superabsorbents.

The winner of the bid, ICIG – which plans to continue producing alcoholates in Lülsdorf exclusively for Evonik until 2027 – was the Essen-based speciality chemicals group’s preferred investor. Another potential investor planned to produce ethylene oxide in Lülsdorf, but was met with protests from residents in the area.

ICIG is no stranger to the plastics industry. The holding company controls, among others, PVC producer Vynova and in 2022 acquired French compounder Benvic. In total, ICIG’s activities include more than 20 production sites with almost 4,000 employees, which most recently reported an annual turnover of EUR 4 bn.