Venator said Cathay, which regards itself as a leading global iron oxide pigment manufacturer, “will be an excellent long-term strategic owner of the business going forward.”

“The acquisition of Venator’s iron oxide pigment operation transforms our global manufacturing footprint, providing tremendous synergies and new growth opportunities,” said Terence Yu, CEO of Cathay Industries Group.

Cathay added that the Venator business has achieved steady growth and maintained profitability amid the pandemic and market fluctuations, demonstrating strong competitiveness and resilience.

The average EBITDA of the iron oxide business in 2020 and 2021 pro forma and adjusted for the impact of a sale leaseback was $16 million. Venator closed a sale-leaseback transaction for its Color Pigments manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, California for $51 million on Oct. 7.

In addition to Venator’s product portfolio, the purchase includes eight manufacturing sites and one administrative site, across six countries on four continents.

Announcing its third-quarter results, which saw the group’s net loss widen to $50 million compared with $47 million in the same period last year, Venator said it has implemented a range of measures that include cutting costs, which should deliver $50 million in annualized savings by the end of 2024.

Venator president and CEO Simon Turner added that the group’s priorities are “focused on cost reduction, improvement of our liquidity profile and optimization of our manufacturing network.”

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist