Orion Engineered Carbons has acquired the remaining shares of the QECC carbon black business in Qingdao, China.
“The total purchase price of approximately €28m (US$30m) for 100% of the equity of QECC was well within our expectations, the business was essentially debt free, and the closing was actually completed ahead of schedule,” said Jack Clem, Orion CEO.
“We are pleased with the positioning and performance of the business, as well as progress on integration within the Orion group. QECC will add to our already strong market position in Asia Pacific and will be immediately accretive to our adjusted EBITDA.
“As we head into the new year, we have renewed open agreements for our major tire customers for 2016. These agreements target volumes that are in line with our strategy to increase business consistent with the market growth in the major regions we serve, especially North America, Europe and South Korea.
“Our overall unit margins for rubber blacks were held at prior year levels in spite of strong competitive pressure. We expect our specialty business to continue its outstanding performance into 2016 as newer markets develop more fully on our expanded specialty production capacity.”
January 27, 2016
