Draslovka announces $150 million Partnership with Oaktree and Acquisition of Mining and Process Solutions
Prague, Czech Republic – Draslovka a.s. (“Draslovka” or “the Company”), a Czech Republic-based family-owned global leader in CN-based specialty chemicals including next generation fumigants and biocides, today announces it has entered into a strategic partnership with funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”), to support Draslovka on its next stage of growth.
Draslovka also today announces the completion of the acquisition of Australia based Mining & Process Solutions (“MPS”), a business that owns the exclusive rights to the Glycine Leaching process, an environmentally benign hydrometallurgical process to leach base and precious metal oxide, mixed oxide and sulphide ores.
Under the terms of the agreement , Oaktree will invest US$150m in Draslovka providing preferred equity capital to support the Company’s growth strategy.
Oaktree’s investment in Draslovka follows the Company’s recent acquisitions of Chemours’ Mining Solutions business, completed in December 2021 with the integration process currently well underway, and exceeding initial expectations, as well as the agreement to purchase Sasol South Africa Limited’s Sodium Cyanide business.
Mining and Process Solutions
Building on Draslovka’s market position as a leading global mining solutions provider to the gold and silver mining industries, the acquisition of MPS adds an environmentally sustainable solution for the extraction of a number of precious metals, as well as copper, nickel, and cobalt, to the Company’s offering. MPS holds an exclusive licensing agreement with Curtin University for the glycine leaching process, allowing ongoing support and access to the latest research being progressed.
The acquisition will allow Draslovka to supply a highly competitive and environmentally sustainable offering to the global market for the metals utilised in the digitalisation of the economy and the transition to electromobility.
As glycine leaching provides a viable solution in sensitive environmental locations where other forms of leaching are not appropriate, the acquisition will add significantly to Draslovka’s diverse mining solutions product portfolio and allow the business to service customers in a broad range of regulatory situations.
Pavel Brůžek, CEO of Draslovka, said:
“We are delighted to enter into the strategic partnership with Oaktree as we look to deliver on our ambitious growth strategy. Oaktree brings significant investment expertise and a broad industry knowledge to Draslovka, and this investment is not only a strong endorsement of the success we have delivered to date but an indication that there is much more to come. We look forward to working alongside Oaktree as we deliver on our ambitious growth targets.
We are also excited to announce the acquisition of Mining and Process Solutions and I would like to thank the Draslovka team for identifying the opportunity offered by the Glycine leaching process early on. . Following last year’s significant acquisitions of Chemours’ Mining Solutions business and the agreement to buy the sodium cyanide business of Sasol in South Africa, this latest acquisition will form yet another critical step in Draslovka’s international expansion strategy and confirm our leadership in providing innovative and sustainable technological solutions to a wide range of mining customers in varied regulatory situations. We invest heavily in continued technological R&D and look forward to fully integrating glycine leaching into the Draslovka family of products.”
Ivor Bryan, Co-founder and Managing Director of Mining and Process Solutions, said:
“The acquisition of MPS by Draslovka is the culmination of a 12 month exercise to identify and secure a major partner that can provide a global network to commercialise our glycine leaching technology developed in partnership with Curtin University. The international expansion by Draslovka into the mining industry in North America, Southern Africa, as well as their existing business in Europe and our presence in Australia, provides truly global routes and support for our market ready solutions to be made available to mining clients. We are excited by the opportunity this provides to continue our passion to further develop and implement our pipeline of innovative solutions that offer economic and ESG benefits to the mining industry.”
/ENDS
About Draslovka a.s.
Draslovka a.s. (Draslovka) is a global leader in cyanide-based chemical specialties and agricultural chemicals including next generation fumigants and biocides. A private holding company based in the Czech Republic, it is owned by four Czech families collaborating within a framework of bpd partners, a leading family office based in Prague. Draslovka has more than 100 years of experience in hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production and HCN chemistry and specializes in the production of fully synthetic and highly purified liquid HCN, which undergoes further processing for application in a variety of downstream products ranging from the mining through to agriculture sectors. Draslovka aims to be a leading global player in the production of cyanides for use in synthesis, mining, and industrial and agricultural applications.
Draslovka operates in three areas:
1. Chemical Specialities – utilizing cyanide-based molecules for a variety of industrial and pharmaceutical applications.
2. Agriculture Solutions – producing sustainable fumigants, fertilizers and growth regulators, which help to increase crop yields.
3. Mining Solutions – producing and supplying high quality CN-based products and services to the mining industry worldwide
About Oaktree
Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments,
with $166 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 19 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.
About Glycine leaching
Glycine is a non-toxic chemical that is fully bio-degradable. As an example, it is used as a feed supplement in animals as well as therapeutically to reduce inflammation in humans. It is a slightly sweet tasting crystalline solid that looks like sugar. Glycine is a readily available chemical that is manufactured in large quantities in the USA, Germany, Japan, China, and India. and finds it principal use in the formulation of herbicides, a food supplement, and nutrient. Glycine can leach most of the nonferrous transition base metals, specifically copper, but also nickel, cobalt and zinc. Among the common manufacturing processes to obtain glycine is combining formaldehyde and ammonia along with hydrogen cyanide (HCN), a key Draslovka product. Other manufacturing method is to combine chloroacetic acid and ammonia.
About CN-based chemistry
Under the standard chemical naming convention CN stands for nitrile and/or cyanide group that are named according to these rules. Compounds in which the carbon atom of the CN group is attached to an acyclic hydrocarbon fragment are generally named using the suffix nitrile and if CN is bound as a salt or ester of hydrocyanic acid, containing the anion CN− or the group —CN these are generally named using the suffix cyanide.
Cyanide are substances consisting of Carbon and Nitrogen (CN) which are abundant in nature. These CN-based substances have large variety of usages in mining, agriculture, automotive, electroplating & surface treatment, pharmaceutical intermediates, which are used in producing many products of our daily use. For more information about cyanides, their use and effects on environment and human health please go to www.cyanides.org.
J.P. Morgan SE is acting as an Exclusive Financial Advisor and a Sole Placement Agent to Draslovka in relation to Oaktree equity investment, and is also the Exclusive Financial Adviser and provider of underwritten debt financing to Draslovka in relation to recently completed Chemours’ Mining Solutions acquisition. Dentons is acting as its legal advisor and PwC is acting as financial and tax advisor, Argo Consulting was conducting Operational Assessment and Pilko & Associates was acting as Environmental and H&S advisor. FTI Consulting is acting as communications advisor.
For media enquiries, please contact:
FTI Consulting
draslovka@fticonsulting.com
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