New Mountain weighs IPO for chemical maker Avantor

NEW YORK: New Mountain Capital is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019 for its chemical-materials maker Avantor Inc according to sources.

The New York-based private equity firm is also considering options for Avantor that could include refinancing its debt, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public.

Avantor’s equity could be worth about US$8bil in an IPO, one of the people said.

The company has about US$9.4bil in total debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Representatives for New Mountain and Avantor declined declined to comment.

Avantor is the successor to Covidien Inc’s specialty chemicals arm, which New Mountain acquired in 2010 for US$280mil. New Mountain backed Avantor’s US$6.4bil purchase last year of lab supplier VWR Corp.

Based in Radnor, Pennsylvania, Avantor makes high-purity acids, extra-durable silicone and other compounds for laboratories and manufacturers. Its advanced technology arm provides “space-grade” materials to NASA and the European Space Agency, according to its website.

Baker started making his own chemicals because the ones he was using in class weren’t pure enough to get accurate results. Avantor still sells several products under the J.T. Baker brand.