Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. is an American

speciality chemicals Speciality chemicals (also called specialties or effect chemicals) are particular chemical products which provide a wide variety of effects on which many other industry sectors rely. Some of the categories of speciality chemicals are adhesives, agr ...

company headquartered in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Vantage operates through four business units: Personal Care, Performance Materials,

Oleochemicals Oleochemistry is the study of vegetable oils and animal oils and fats, and oleochemicals derived from these fats and oils. The resulting product can be called oleochemicals (from Latin: oleum "olive oil"). The major product of this industry is soap, ...

, and Foods. Its Personal Care unit provides chemical ingredients for hair, skin, sun care and other cosmetic products. Vantage Performance Materials produces chemicals with applications in

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

lubricants A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

, precision cleaning and other industry specialties. Vantage is one of the largest

oleochemical Oleochemistry is the study of vegetable oils and animal oils and fats, and oleochemicals derived from these fats and oils. The resulting product can be called oleochemicals (from Latin: oleum "olive oil"). The major product of this industry is soap, ...

producers in the United States. Vantage was formed in 2008 when

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

(PE) firm

H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. Capital is a Miami, Florida–based private equity and alternative assets investment firm with $53 billion of equity capital under management. The firm operates a family of private equity, growth equity, credit/special situation, primary ...

acquired Uniqema's operations in the United States from

Croda International Croda International plc is a British speciality chemicals company based at Snaith, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by George William Crowe and Henry James Dawe in 1925. Crowe bought an abando ...

. Uniqema was a global oleochemical manufacturer which was acquired by Croda from

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

(ICI) in 2006. Under H.I.G.'s ownership, Vantage expanded through a series of acquisitions, including Lambent Technologies in 2008 (which became Vantage's Performance Materials unit) and Lipo Chemicals in 2010 (which became the Personal Care unit). H.I.G. then sold Vantage to mid-market PE firm

The Jordan Company The Jordan Company (TJC) is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and management buyout investments in smaller middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm, which is based in New York City, was founded in 1982. Th ...

in 2012. In 2016, Vantage acquired

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods can be baked. Heat is gradually transferred " ...

products maker Mallet & Co., which became the company's Foods unit. H.I.G. re-acquired majority ownership in Vantage in 2017 via a

leveraged buy-out A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loan ...

, with Jordan retaining a minority stake. The transaction is expected to close in October 2017.

References

External links

*{{Official website , https://www.vantagegrp.com/ 2008 establishments in Illinois Specialty chemical companies Chemical companies of the United States American companies established in 2008 Manufacturing companies based in Chicago