Henkel sells Cognis
German household chemicals company Henkel announced on Monday (November 12) that it had sold its specialty chemicals unit, Cognis, for Euro2.5 billion to a financial consortium. Permira (formerly Schroders Ventures Europe) and Goldman Sachs agreed the deal on September 12, but a clause was inserted to allow the consortium to pull out within two months due to the uncertainty following the events of September 11. The sale represents one of the largest private equity buyouts in the chemicals industry.
The sale of Cognis is one part of Henkel’s restructuring programme which will also result in job cuts of between 2,500 and 3,000. The company announced a 10.7% drop in earnings for the third quarter. Chief executive Ulrich Lehner said "When we defined our objectives for the current year, the world economic prospects were different. This restructuring programme shall secure the strong position of the Henkel Group in the long run,"
