Toray To Buy Tencate Unit Tcac In Major Composites Deal

Japanese materials firm Toray Industries Inc. is acquiring the TenCate Advanced Composites (TCAC) unit of Koninklijke TenCate BV in a deal valued at 930 million euros ($1.15 billion).

Officials with both firms said in a March 14 news release that the combination of Tokyo-based Toray and TCAC of Almelo, the Netherlands, brings together complementary product offerings serving the aerospace, space and communications and high-performance industrial markets.

For Toray, they added, the acquisition is "an important step" in its strategy to accelerate growth and expand its high-performance thermoplastic and thermoset composites offerings. For TCAC, the combination secures access to a source of highly specified carbon fiber, a crucial component to supporting the needs of its customers.

"We have a long history of successful cooperation with Toray and are convinced that we can strengthen each other," TCAC Chief Operations Officer Frank Meurs said in the release.

TenCate CEO Jan Albers added that the aerospace industry "is entering a new growth phase, which requires large investments for continued sustainable growth in this dynamic market."

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2018.

TCAC makes composites based on plastics and other materials at several plants worldwide, including one in Morgan Hill, Calif. The unit posted sales of almost 180 million euros ($222 million) in 2016, representing about 15 percent of TenCate's total sales. Full-year sales totals for 2017 have not been released.

Toray makes a wide range of chemicals and plastics and has annual sales of around $19 billion. Late last year, the firm announced plans to build a new commercial-scale carbonization facility at its plant in Jalisco, Mexico, which is run by its U.S. subsidiary Zoltek Corp.