Clearwater advises the owners of DST-Chemicals on its sale to Foreman Capital

Transaction

DTS-Chemicals sold to Foreman Capital

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Role

Adviser to DST-Chemicals on its sale to Foreman Capital

Sector

Industrial & Chemicals

Region

Denmark

Clearwater has advised the owners of DST-Chemicals, a Danish manufacturer of eco-friendly speciality chemicals for industrial cleaning applications, on the majority sale to the private equity firm Foreman Capital.

Founded in 1987 in Kolding, Denmark, DST-Chemicals is a second-generation family-owned company that specialises in the production of eco-friendly speciality chemical consumables, used for metal cleaning as part of various manufacturing processes. It has a wide product portfolio, including products for degreasing, derusting and deburring.

DST-Chemicals’ customers include large blue-chip industrial manufacturers such as ZF and Danfoss. The company’s key value proposition is to provide a highly efficient product range combined with state-of-the-art service and unmatched technical know-how, whilst reducing CO₂ emissions and wastewater production.

Foreman Capital is a private equity company based in the Netherlands with a newly opened office in Copenhagen. DST-Chemicals marks Foreman’s third Denmark-based portfolio company. The transaction offers a great match for both parties in fulfilling DST-Chemicals’ growth ambitions in new markets and building a global leader in its field.

I started the dialogue with Clearwater about five years ago after hearing positively about them through my network. After that our organisation went through a strategy process with ambitious goals for growth which made it clear that we needed a partner, that could spar with us in executing the strategy even more professionally. We reopened the dialogue with Clearwater, who presented us to an impressive range of buyers who could match both strategically, financially, and personally. All the way through the team was very good at making us feel confident and supporting us in a process, that was unknown to us and had a god apprehension of the emotional aspect in a sale like this. In Foreman Capital we have found a partner with the same business view and philosophy as us - bringing some skills, that we will benefit from.
Jacob Funk, CEO and co-owner, DST-Chemicals

It has been a true pleasure advising Jacob and his team from DST in finding the right partner to continue the strong development of DST-Chemicals. DST is a great example of how a great concept can create high value for large OEM customers globally. DST, with more than 90% of its revenue based outside Denmark, has shown that its concept and products can compete with some of the leading global players within the field. We wish Foreman, Jacob and the 10 new co-shareholders from the DST organisation congratulations with the transaction and look forward to following their continued growth and success.
Lars Rau Jacobsen, Partner, Clearwater