Aterian Investment Partners has combined U.S. Zinc and EverZinc, two of the largest global producers of zinc chemical products, to form the pre-eminent global zinc chemistry business. The combined company will operate under the EverZinc name, and will be headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company will support high value markets, such as personal care, alkaline, storage and rechargeable batteries, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, agriculture, feed, paints and coatings, and rubber and serve its customers from 14 facilities located throughout North America, Europe and Asia.
U.S. Zinc is a United States leader in zinc oxide, fine zinc powder and zinc metal. The business is differentiated through over 70 years of innovation, strong material science know-how and quality in the marketplace. U.S. Zinc services the domestic market with an expansive capacity and manufacturing footprint throughout its four facilities in Texas and Tennessee.
EverZinc, through its 185-year heritage, is a global zinc technology leader in specialty zinc materials, including fine zinc powders, zinc oxides, battery zinc powders and Zano®, an ultra-fine zinc oxide. EverZinc services its customers through 10 production sites located in Belgium, Canada, China, the Netherlands, Norway and Malaysia.
Aterian, an operationally-focused middle market private investment firm targeting industry leading businesses, acquired U.S. Zinc in 2018.
"We're excited to partner with Aterian and the board to lead this new combined organization forward into the future. This strategic combination brings together two industry pioneers. By combining our comprehensive zinc chemistry platforms, employee base, proven R&D and technology capabilities and specializations, we will further our leadership in catapulting the new organization years ahead on the technology curve."
Vincent Dujardin, Chief Executive Officer at EverZinc, who will lead the combined company as President and Chief Executive Officer
"We built a long-term thesis around zinc chemistry, starting with our platform investment in U.S. Zinc," said Christopher H. Thomas, Co-Founder and Partner at Aterian. "As one of the most widely available and sustainable metals in the world, zinc is uniquely recyclable and has applications critical to our future. This investment further expands on our vision as the organization will continue to partner and innovate with its customers to lead the industry through technological and sustainable alternatives and solutions."
Zinc is the fourth most common metal in use in the world and has made considerable inroads as a potential material of choice in nascent markets. These include innovations in personal care, where zinc minerals are seen as a better alternative to existing materials in sunscreen and skin care, and renewables and energy storage, where new battery combinations such as zinc air and nickel zinc are alternatives to existing stationary power storage technologies.
"This combination will strengthen our global footprint, improve sourcing capabilities, diversify our business and allow our platform to better serve customers on a global scale," said Joel Hawthorne, President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Zinc, who will serve as Vice Chairman of the EverZinc enterprise and member on the combined company's board. "We are eager to continue serving existing applications while cultivating new market streams for our zinc components."
Zinc is highly recyclable. The new company intends to source a majority of its critical raw materials from third party by-product streams, by converting used zinc material already available in the marketplace, thus encouraging greater industry-wide sustainability. Zinc can be recovered without a significant loss in quality, resulting in less need for virgin zinc and the air and water emissions, deforestation, energy consumption and waste that often results from mining and processing virgin zinc.
"Aterian will continue to support EverZinc through investment in capacity, technology and innovation," said Joshua Ciampa, Managing Director at Aterian. "Global applications for zinc are reaching a critical inflection point and we are pleased to be in a position to leverage our European or Asian technology for capacity in North America, and vice-versa."
Aterian Investment Partners, U.S. Zinc's controlling shareholder, will continue to own the combined company.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to U.S. Zinc and Aterian, and Moelis & Company LLC served as U.S. Zinc's and Aterian's M&A advisor. Willkie, Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal counsel and Jefferies served as lead financial advisor and Stifel served as financial advisor to seller.
About U.S. Zinc
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, for more over 70 years, U.S. Zinc is the premier global leader in value added zinc products including zinc oxide, zinc powder, and zinc metal products sold to the tire, chemical, coatings, and agriculture markets. The business is differentiated through over 70 years of technology and quality in the marketplace, with an expansive manufacturing footprint throughout four facilities in Texas and Tennessee.
About EverZinc
EverZinc is a global provider of specialty zinc materials including fine zinc powders, zinc oxides, battery zinc powders and Zano®, an ultra-fine zinc oxide. The company's products are used in a wide variety of applications, including corrosion inhibiting paints, performance tires, pharmaceuticals, ceramics, glass, sunscreen, alkaline batteries, and other products.
With manufacturing operations located in Belgium, Canada, China, the Netherlands, Norway, and Malaysia, EverZinc leads through its 10 production sites to serve its growing global customer base.
About Aterian Investment Partners
Aterian Investment Partners is a private equity firm that invests in industry-leading, middle market businesses. In collaboration with management, Aterian supports investments throughout an organization, from people to processes, equipment, technology, and social governance, among others. With offices in New York and Florida, Aterian has raised cumulative equity commitments of more than $1.5 billion since its founding in 2009.