Dane Group

Deal Summary

Catalyst advised the shareholders of Dane Group on the sale of its pigments division to RPM International Inc, a NYSE quoted company.

Established in 1853 by James Dane to manufacture printing inks, Dane Group later moved away from its core products and developed daylight fluorescent pigments. The company has since become the second largest producer in the world with its pigments being used by many industries, including paper coating, textiles, paints, printing inks, plastics and in a number of safety applications, as well as in products from highlighter pens to workmen’s jackets.

In addition to sites across the UK, Dane Group also has an operation in the USA.

What difference did we make?

Catalyst was approached by David Manning, Chairman of Dane Group to manage the sale of the pigments division. This had followed interest from RPM, who had courted Dane over many months looking to acquire its daylight fluorescent, phosphorescent and thermochromatic pigments business to combine with its subsidiary DayGlo Color Corp, a long term competitor of Dane in the colorant industry.

Catalyst's experience in selling businesses to US buyers coupled to the fact that one of our US partners had sold a business to RPM in the past, meant that we were well positioned to advise the shareholders on the sale of the business.

Focusing on only one buyer and one who is a long term competitor presented a real challenge in the diligence phase, particularly in an industry which demands extensive environmental due diligence. Catalyst worked very closely with the company in preparing for financial and environmental due diligence and managed the process tightly to ensure that commercially sensitive information was only released days before completion.