With the transfer of Evonik’s methacrylates business to private equity investor Advent International, Röhm, one of the world’s leading producers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer and PMMA molding compounds, is now called Röhm again. The company based at Darmstadt, Germany, also has a new logo.

The deal with Advent was announced in March of this year as part of Evonik’s “consistent strategy to focus on specialty chemicals.”  The private equity group is taking the business for an enterprise value of €3 billion – eight times EBITDA.

Founded by Otto Röhm, the company’s portfolio evolved slightly over the years and was widened in the 1999 all-German merger of former owner Hüls with Degussa. With the 2007 merger of Degussa-Hüls into the newly created Evonik, the name Röhm fell by the wayside, but under the agreement with Advent has been restored.

Now headed by Michael Pack as CEO, the old and new Röhm has some 3,900 employees globally at 15 production sites. Its biggest sites for production of its iconic “Plexiglas” brand acrylic glass (PMMA) are at Darmstadt and Worms, Germany. Its website lists altogether eight sites in Germany, also including Hanau and Wesseling, along with three in the US, two in China/Taiwan and one each in Russia and South Africa.

The company, which also produces adhesive resins as well as cyanide for the mining industry, reported sales of €1.9 billion in 2018, and management estimates that 2019 revenues will be at a similar label. In PMMA sheet and molding compounds, Evonik counted itself among the three leading players, with a last reported market share of 19-20%.

With the introduction of an innovative process to produce MMA, Pack said Röhm is also targeting global technology leadership. “It is our goal to keep driving the growth of our business and to further strengthen leading market positions through investments and targeted expansion,” he said.

“With the support of Advent International we are now able to initiate important investments in our technologies and the expansion of our production facilities,” Pack added.

In late 2017, Evonik announced a new process for MMA, which it branded as "LiMA" (Leading in Methacrylates). At the time, the Essen group said the process combined established steps with its own developments. Due to considerably lower energy consumption, it is claimed to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40%.