The Oranje-Nassau Groep and The Carlyle Group to Acquire Stahl Holdings B.V.

London - Oranje-Nassau Groep (ONG), a 100% subsidiary of WENDEL Investissement and The Carlyle Group announce today that they have signed an agreement to acquire Stahl Holdings B.V. from affiliates of Investcorp. The transaction is subject to approval from the competition authorities.

Stahl Holdings B.V., with €307 million of consolidated revenues, headquartered in the Netherlands, is a leading surface effects specialist, providing a broad range of formulated products and services in both leather chemicals and non-leather high performance coatings. As a global business, Stahl operates through nine manufacturing sites and 26 strategically located technical service laboratory facilities, selling its products into some 66 countries worldwide. In total the company employs approximately 1,400 people, many of whom are dedicated technical experts, offering customised client service throughout the world. www.stahl.com/

The value of the transaction is approximately €520 million. The equity invested by ONG, The Carlyle Group and the Stahl management team amounts to about €160 million, with ONG and The Carlyle Group investing on an equal basis.

Frank Policky, CEO of Stahl Holdings B.V. said: "We look forward to working with ONG/WENDEL Investissement and Carlyle to further develop and grow the value of Stahl. This investment will give us the means to expand our presence in both Performance Coatings and in Leather Chemicals."

Bernard Gautier, of the management Board of WENDEL Investissement said: "We are thrilled by this acquisition carried out by Oranje-Nassau which, following the recent investment in the waste management company AVR, confirms the subsidiary’s strategy towards a diversification of its activities supported by WENDEL Investissement in order to accede to more international opportunities."

Robert Easton, Managing Director, Carlyle Group said: "We are delighted to be able to acquire Stahl Holdings in partnership with WENDEL Investissement. We look forward to working closely with Frank Policky and his outstanding management team to help continue to build the company on a global basis."

ONG and Carlyle intend to consolidate Stahl’s world leadership position in Leather Finish and to further expand the Permuthane business, both through organic growth and add-on acquisitions.