PolyOne rebrands and completes Clariant Masterbatch acquisition

PolyOne Corp. (Avon Lake, Ohio, U.S.), a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and sustainable solutions, reported on July 1 that it has completed its purchase of the color masterbatch businesses of Clariant (Muttenz, Switzerland) and Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. PolyOne also announced that it has changed its name and will now be called Avient. In conjunction with its rebranding and new name, the company says its ticker symbol will change from "POL" to "AVNT," effective at the start of trading on July 13, 2020. As of that date, the "POL" trading symbol will no longer be active.

The entry into the agreement to acquire the Clariant Masterbatch business was originally announced in December 2019 and includes 46 manufacturing operations and technology centers in 29 countries and approximately 3,500 employees, who will join Avient's Color, Additives and Inks segment.

Further, Avient notes that the combined net purchase price is $1.44 billion representing a 10.8x multiple of 2019 adjusted EBITDA, or 7.5x including anticipated synergies.

"With this acquisition, Avient now expects over 85% of adjusted EBITDA to be generated from specialty applications," says Robert M. Patterson, chairman, president and CEO for Avient. "This is up from less than 10% when our specialty journey began over a decade ago. While we honor the legacies of our past organizations, under our new name Avient, we come together and look to the future as a world-class sustainable organization."

Avient has also outlined key priorities for the new organization, including keeping safety first for its workers and customers; being a great place to work through a high-performance culture; advancing inclusion and diversity; leading in sustainability; investing in innovation; operating globally, serving locally; serving customers to build trusting, collaborative relationships; and delivering financially for all stakeholders.