EQT to list German aromas firm in November

EQT, a Nordic buyout group, is planning a November listing for Symrise, a German chemical business acquired by the firm’s third fund in 2001.
 
According to The Financial Times Deutschland, EQT is looking into the possibility of a November listing. No details of where the listing is expected to take place or how much Symrise is expected to raise through a flotation. The company reported sales of €1.148 billion ($ 1.47 billion) in 2005.
 
Symrise was formed in October 2002 through EQT’s €1.6 billion acquisition and merger of Haarman & Reimer and Dragoco, two Holzminden, Germany-based producers of flavours and fragrances for the food and cosmetics industries.
 
EQT has a 76 percent stake in Symrise, with Dragoco CEO Horst-Otto Gerberding holding a 22 percent stake and NordLB, a German bank, owning the balance. EQT made its investment through EQT III, which raised €2 billion in 2001.
 
Symrise is the world’s fourth largest producer of flavours, fragrances, cosmetic ingredients and aroma chemicals. In 2005, Symrise had a market share of approximately 9 percent, according to company estimates. The majority of its sales, or 57 percent, are in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with 19 percent in North America, 18 percent in Asia Pacific and the six percent in South America.
 
EQT is currently in the market raising its fifth buyout fund with a target of €3 billion, just two years after closing the €2.5 billion EQT IV.