Case Study

Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A)

16 pages
September 2009
Reference: IMD-3-2045

It was late morning on January 21, 2004 and Dr Robert Easton was enjoying the beautiful sunshine and crisp mountain air on the ski slopes of Davos, Switzerland when his mobile phone rang. It was a call from Ken Greatbatch, the former CFO of Vantico, with very interesting news: Clariant’s attempt to auction off its operating division, AZ Electronic Materials (AZ-EM), had failed. There was now a great chance of an exclusive deal for Carlyle to acquire the company. Clariant needed to make the deal happen, and fast; it had promised shareholders and analysts during the summer of 2003 that it would reduce its debt level by almost €800 million. Six months had passed and the company had very little to show for its efforts.To dispose of its division, Clariant had initially engineered an auction among AZ-EM’s closest competitors, but had not succeeded in finding a suitable buyer. Faced with the failed auction, increased pressure from shareholders and a clear need to raise cash rapidly, Clariant resorted to its second-best option – a negotiated sale with a qualified private equity buyer. The Carlyle Group immediately voiced an interest and offered to expedite due diligence if a deal could be negotiated rapidly. Speed was now of the essence for Clariant’s top management team, who were very keen to figure out how quickly Easton and his team could move.

Learning Objective

Buyout, due diligence, managing transition, turnaround management, leverage, incentives, restructuring.

Keywords
Buyout, Private Equity, Turnaround, Leverage, Electronics, General Management, Strategy
Settings
Switzerland
Manufacturing, Chemicals
2004-2009
Type
Field Research
Copyright
© 2009
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note, Video
Case clearing houses
IMD case studies are distributed through case clearing houses. In order to browse the collection and purchase copies please visit the links below.

The Case Centre

Cranfield University

Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]

Harvard Business School Publishing

60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]

Asia Pacific Case Center

NUCB Business School

1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]

Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

This case study is part of a series
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A)
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A2): Due diligence
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (B): Value creation after the transaction
This case study is part of a series
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A)
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A2): Due diligence
  • Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (B): Value creation after the transaction
Discover our latest research
IMD's faculty and research teams publish articles, case studies, books and reports on a wide range of topics
Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (A2): Due diligence
By Benoit F. Leleux Balaji S. Chakravarthy and Jonathan Lachowitz
Case reference: IMD-3-2047 ©2009
Summary
Private equity managers are asked to make some of the most complex and gutsy investment decisions. Before any deal is completed, an information gat...
Reference IMD-3-2047
Copyright ©2009
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Industry Manufacturing, Chemicals
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Carlyle Group and the AZ-EM buyout (B): Value creation after the transaction
By Benoit F. Leleux Balaji S. Chakravarthy and Jonathan Lachowitz
Case reference: IMD-3-2046 ©2009
Summary
The Carlyle Group’s investment committee, through a unanimous vote, gave Dr. Robert Easton, the go-ahead to make a firm offer to acquire AZ Electro...
Reference IMD-3-2046
Copyright ©2009
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Industry Manufacturing, Chemicals
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications