Europe's leading window profile extruder is likely to be sold to a financial investor

Europe’s largest window profile extruder is expected to be sold within the next few weeks. The sale of HT Troplast, currently owned by Rьtgers, has been on the table for almost 16 months (PRW.com 27 March 2003). HT communications manager Rainer Hardtke told PRW.com that most of the potential buyers are financial investors.

Hardtke said a sale to another profile producer was unlikely, as cartel authorities would find it difficult to approve of such a deal in view of HT Troplast’s size and dominating market position. The company has 3,750 employees, achieved turnover of E640m in 2002 and consumes more than 300,000tpa of plastics.

Rьtgers has said it will dispose of its plastics interests within 2004. In April it sold Isola, a producer of copper clad laminates for circuit boards, to financial investor Texas Pacific Group. Deals have yet to be concluded for HT Troplast and thermoset resin and compound maker Bakelite. Rьtgers decided to sell HT after a decade of ownership to finance its purchase of chemicals company Degussa from the utility Eon.