In brief: Ambienta makes 2x on €150m cement deal

Ambienta has made around 2x on the sale of Calucem, a business that provides chemicals to the construction industry, according to a source with knowledge of the deal.

In a statement on 2 August, the sustainability-focused private equity firm said Calucem produces calcium aluminate cements, the use of which can reduce the amount of cement required in construction and sometimes replace cement entirely. Using its own environmental impact analysis methodology, Ambienta believes the company saved more than 1 million tons of cement and 260,000 tons of carbon emissions during the firm’s period of ownership.

The investment was made in 2016 from Ambienta’s second fund, which closed on €323 million in 2014. It sold the business to Cementos Molins for €150 million, according to a statement from the trade buyer. Cementos Molins said Calucem has around 180 employees and achieved a turnover of €58 million, with an EBITDA of €16 million, during the previous 12 months.

Francesco Lodrini, partner at Ambienta, said: “Despite the fact that cement may look like a traditional and perhaps laggard industry, we were able to fast track deep and lasting positive changes in the competitive positions of Calucem that resulted in the interest of several parties in the run up to its sale. We were able to create full private equity type of returns while delivering the world a substantial positive environmental impact.”