Qingdao carbon black JV now wholly Orion-owned

Carbon black supplier Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. shares that its acquisition of the remaining 64 per cent share in the Qingdao Evonik Chemical Co. Ltd. (QECC) carbon black business in Qingdao, China has now been completed.

“The total purchase price of approximately €28 million for 100 per cent of the equity of QECC was well within our expectations, the business was essentially debt free, and the closing actually was completed ahead of schedule,” said Orion chief executive officer Jack Clem. “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.”

Last autumn, Orion Engineered Carbons and Evonik Industries AG agreed to Orion’s purchase of Evonik’s 52 per cent share in the joint venture, 75,000 tonne per annum carbon black facility, along with a further 12 per cent share held by the German investment and Development Corporation (Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, a subsidiary of German government-owned development bank KfW).