Milacron Holdings Corp. may be considering a sale of its Cimcool fluid technology unit, which makes metalworking fluids, Bloomberg reported on June 28.
According to Bloomberg’s report, which cites unidentified sources, the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company is working with an advisor to solicit offers for the Cimcool business, with the expectation it could bring as much as $300 million, though a final decision hadn’t been made.
As a company policy, Milacron does not comment on rumors or speculation, Milacron Corporate Communications Manager Lacy Wise told Lube Report yesterday in an emailed statement. “The company is committed to acting in the best interests of its shareholders, customers and employees.”
The majority of Milacrons business is in manufacture, distribution and service of highly engineered and customized systems within the plastic technology and processing industry.
In its earnings release for the quarter ending March 31, Milacrons Fluid Technologies segment reported operating earnings of $5.4 million, down an even 10 percent from the year prior. Sales for the segment – which supplies metalworking and industrial fluids – dropped almost 4 percent, from $32 million a year ago to $29.3 million in 2019s first quarter.
According to its website, Cimcool’s metalworking fluids are used in automotive, aerospace and industrial metalworking applications. The products include precision metal removal fluids, rust preventatives, metal forming fluids, HVAC specialty fluids, specialty fluids and productive process and maintenance cleaners.
Private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors acquired Milacron from Avenue Capital Group for an undisclosed amount in 2012. Milacron had exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2009. In June 2009, a bankruptcy court in Cincinnati had approved the sale of Milacron’s assets for an estimated $175 million to a group led by New York-based Avenue Capital Group and Waltham, Mass.-headquartered DDJ Capital Management LLC.