NewMarket Corporation Completes the Acquisition of AMPAC Intermediate Holdings, LLC

By: NewMarket Corporation via Business Wire

January 16, 2024 at 17:01 PM EST

NewMarket Corporation (NYSE: NEU) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of AMPAC Intermediate Holdings, LLC, the ultimate parent company of American Pacific Corporation (AMPAC), for approximately $700 million.

Based in Cedar City, Utah, AMPAC is the leading North American manufacturer of critical performance additives used in solid rocket motors for space launch and military defense applications. AMPAC is qualified on many NASA and Department of Defense programs, and has been serving space launch and national defense programs for more than sixty years. AMPAC also manufactures Halotron BrX, a clean and environmentally friendly fire extinguishing agent that replaces legacy high ozone-depleting fire extinguishing agents. Founded in 1955, AMPAC has one operating facility and approximately 150 full-time employees. The acquisition of AMPAC expands NewMarket’s exposure to mission critical, resilient sectors.

NewMarket has been in the manufacturing industry since 1887, actively operating a specialty chemicals business for nearly 100 years. Our company has a long-term commitment to its people, to safety, to providing innovative solutions for our customers, and to making the world a better place. With extensive research, development and testing expertise, we collaborate with our customers to provide the most advanced products, comprehensive testing programs, and superior technical solutions tailored to their individual needs.

Thomas E. Gottwald, NewMarket’s Chairman and CEO, said: “We are very excited about closing the acquisition of AMPAC and would like to welcome the entire AMPAC team into the NewMarket family. AMPAC’s existing management team is highly qualified, and this was an important factor in our decision to acquire the business. We look forward to working with them and growing together. While we remain committed to our core petroleum additives business, we are also committed to identifying terrific opportunities outside of the petroleum additives business that meet our M&A and diversification criteria. We think the acquisition of AMPAC is a great example of that approach.”

The acquisition closed on January 16, 2024, and was funded by cash on hand and borrowings under our revolving credit facility. AMPAC will be managed as a separate business segment and not a part of our petroleum additives segment. We believe AMPAC will be accretive to net income in 2024.

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In addition to the acquired AMPAC business, NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries Afton Chemical Corporation and Ethyl Corporation, develops, manufactures, blends, and delivers chemical additives that enhance the performance of petroleum products. From custom-formulated additive packages to market-general additives, the NewMarket family of companies provides the world with the technology to make engines run smoother, machines last longer, and fuels burn cleaner.

Some of the information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although NewMarket’s management believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to, an inability to retain key personnel, to maintain relationships with suppliers or customers of AMPAC, to successfully integrate AMPAC into our business and operations, or to otherwise realize the expected benefits from our acquisition of AMPAC, as well as the other factors detailed from time to time in the reports that NewMarket files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risk factors in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is available to shareholders upon request.

You should keep in mind that any forward-looking statement made by NewMarket in the foregoing discussion speaks only as of the date on which such forward-looking statement is made. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these events or how they may affect us. We have no duty to, and do not intend to, update or revise the forward-looking statements in this discussion after the date hereof, except as may be required by law. In light of these risks and uncertainties, you should keep in mind that the events described in any forward-looking statement made in this discussion, or elsewhere, might not occur.