Tantalum powder manufacturer Niotan sold to KEMET Corporation
February 8, 2012
KEMET Corporation, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of tantalum, ceramic, aluminium, film, paper and electrolytic capacitors, has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of tantalum powder manufacturer Niotan Incorporated from an affiliate of Denham Capital Management LP.
Niotan has been a significant supplier of tantalum powder to KEMET for several years.
“Acquiring Niotan is a significant step in securing and stabilising our tantalum powder resources”, stated Per Loof, Chief Executive Officer of KEMET.
KEMET will pay an initial purchase price of $30 million at the closing of the transaction and additional deferred payments of $45 million over a thirty month period after the closing. KEMET will also be required to make quarterly royalty payments for tantalum powder produced by Niotan after the closing of the transaction, in an aggregate amount equal to $10,000,000 by December 31, 2014.
Niotan’s headquarters and principal operating location is in Carson City, Nevada, USA, and is the largest western hemisphere production location for tantalum capacitor powder.
Tantalum, which is relatively rare in the earth’s crust and, therefore, inherently expensive, is consumed in applications where the costs are justified by its unusual and outstanding electrical, physical and mechanical properties. The major applications that consume tantalum are solid state capacitors (70%), super-alloys for jet engine and industrial gas turbines (12%), corrosion resistant parts for the chemical process industry (5%), large high value silicon chip wafers (5%), and as an additive in glass manufacture, cutting tools and piezo-electric devices.
Edited by: Paul Whittaker, Editor ipmd.net, [email protected]
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