Covestro and DSM: Sustainable Strategy
Shortly after celebrating its five-year business anniversary, Covestro has another reason to celebrate. It signed an agreement to acquire the Resins & Functional Materials Business (RFM) from Royal DSM on September 30, 2020.We took a closer look at the deal and spoke with Covestros Michael Friede about the transaction.
With the acquisition of DSMs RFM business Covestro invests heavily in sustainable products. (Source: Elnur - stock.adobe.com)
-By Sarah Silva
Covestro holds a well-established position in coating resins for applications within sectors that include automotive, industrial and protective and performance. The agreed acquisition will add a complete range of water-based polyacrylate resins and will diversify the company’s portfolio of customer industries.
A purchase price of EUR 1.61 billion accounts for the attractive growth markets of DSM’s highly specialised products. Among them are resins for use in paints and other industrial applications, and optical fibre coatings, a segment that holds vast potential given the advent of 5G technology. Covestro will also gain greater proximity to its customers in key markets and can add a further 20 production sites to its network.
Strategic move for both parties
The transaction also furthers DSM’s goals as it evolves into a company with a strong focus on nutrition, health and sustainable living. Recent acquisitions by DSM of the Erber Group, Glycom and CSK are aligned with this mission.
Dimitri de Vreeze and Geraldine Matchett, co-CEOs of DSM, look forward to watching the business unit grow and develop under Covestro leadership. They recognise the shared culture and value placed on sustainability and view Covestro as a strong platform for growth that will benefit existing and potential customers and employees.
Greater innovation for the benefit of its customers
From Covestro’s perspective, the integration of RFM into its Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS) segment creates a comprehensive and innovative product portfolio and one of the leading suppliers in the field of sustainable coating resins. Michael Friede, head of this segment, acknowledges the business opportunities that can be leveraged by combining the strengths of Covestro and the RFM team: “The combination of our research activities together with RFM’s strong research pipeline will allow us to be even more innovative in the field of coating resins and become an even more attractive R&D partner for our customers.”
CAS is currently the smallest Covestro segment based on sales of EUR 2.4 billion in 2019. The acquisition will increase revenues by more than 40 % to about EUR 3.4 billion.
In addition, the CAS portfolio will be shifted towards high growth markets such as 3D-printing materials (average growth rate > 20 %) and advanced solar coatings. Consumer demand for more sustainable ingredients, and stricter environmental regulations, is expected to spur market growth to about 5 % p.a. for sustainable coating resins. Covestro will be more than prepared.
Michael Friede Head of the segment Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties at Covestro
Interview with Michael Friede
What led to the decision to acquire the RFM business from DSM?
Michale Friede: We pursue a clear and long-term oriented growth strategy that aims at expanding our sustainable and innovative businesses. The acquisition of RFM is strategically and financially a perfect opportunity to pursue this long-term growth strategy at highly attractive conditions and tangible synergies.
Acquiring RFM adds about €1 billion in revenues to our Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties segment – this represents an increase of about 40 %. Additionally, the acquisition of RFM is a milestone in our journey to a circular economy: With this transaction, we are gaining strong brands focused on sustainability and an excellent research pipeline allowing us to serve our customers’ needs even better.
How does this acquisition help your circular economy goals?
Michael Friede: The acquisition of RFM is a key step in our journey to a circular economy:
Products:
Covestro is already one of the leading providers of water-based polyurethane dispersions. With the acquisition of RFM, we will add a complete range of water-based polyacrylate resins and will expand our technology portfolio to include water-based hybrid technologies, powder coating resins as well as radiation curing resins. RFM includes strong brands in terms of sustainability as well as additive manufacturing, and an advanced solar coatings business.
Innovation:
The transaction is an important step to drive innovation for the transition towards a circular economy. Both businesses have an excellent and complementary research pipeline, especially in the area of sustainable high-performance raw materials for the coatings industry. Combining them will allow us to be even more innovative in the field of coating resins and become an even more attractive R&D partner for our customers. Thereby, we will be able to drive innovation and to advance sustainability across the integrated customer industries as well as to pursue the transition to a circular economy even faster.
Note:
Covestro has signed an agreement to acquire the Resins & Functional Materials business (RFM) from Royal DSM at September 30, 2020. The transaction is still subject to regulatory approvals, including antitrust clearance. The closing of the transaction is expected for the first quarter of 2021.
