[STRATEGIC] Specialty Chemicals ·
Electronics Materials — February 2, 2026 (Closed)
Element Solutions Completes $500M Carve-Out
of Micromax from Celanese
A textbook bolt-on in specialty electronics materials: ESI adds
a high-growth inks & pastes business to its MacDermid Alpha portfolio,
funded by a $450M term loan add-on. Morgan Stanley advised the seller.
DEAL SNAPSHOT
|
DEAL VALUE ~$500M |
STRUCTURE All-Cash Carve-Out |
|
ANNOUNCED October 28, 2025 |
FINANCING $450M TLB add-on + $500M
RCF |
|
CLOSED February 2, 2026 |
EPS ACCRETION >5% on Day 1 |
THE PARTIES
|
ACQUIRER Element Solutions Inc.
(NYSE: ESI) Miami-based
specialty chemicals group with a $7B+ market cap. Operates Electronics
(MacDermid Alpha) and Industrial & Specialty segments. Supplies materials
to semiconductor fabs, EV manufacturers, PCB makers, and defense contractors
globally. |
TARGET / SELLER Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE) Irving,
Texas-based specialty materials and chemicals conglomerate. Sold Micromax as
part of an aggressive balance sheet deleveraging program. CEO Scott
Richardson committed all proceeds to debt paydown. |
DEAL OVERVIEW
This is a clean,
strategic bolt-on with a clear industrial logic: Element Solutions adds
Micromax's advanced electronic inks and pastes — used in aerospace, defense,
EV, satellite, and wearable electronics — to its existing MacDermid Alpha
Electronics Solutions business, pushing combined Electronics segment revenues
toward approximately $2 billion annually.
Micromax had
posted high-single-digit organic revenue growth in 2025, making it an
attractive asset. For Celanese, the divestiture was purely defensive — the
company has been under pressure to reduce its debt load, and Micromax was a
non-core asset that could command a clean exit at full value.
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
The ~$500 million
purchase price was financed via a $450 million add-on to Element Solutions'
existing senior secured Term Loan B (due 2030), which closed simultaneously
with the acquisition. The company also refinanced its revolving credit facility
into a new $500 million, 5-year facility — up from $375 million previously —
extending maturity to 2031.
On projected 2025
results, Micromax contributes approximately $40 million in adjusted EBITDA on
an annualized basis, implying an acquisition multiple of roughly 12.5x EBITDA.
ESI guided for more than 5% adjusted EPS accretion in year one.
ADVISORS
Sell-side
Financial: Morgan Stanley & Co.
LLC
Sell-side
Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Sell-side
Legal: Allen Overy Shearman Sterling
LLP
No buy-side
advisors were publicly disclosed.