HEXPOL AB (publ) has come to an agreement with the German Rowa Group to acquire Horst Müller Kunststoffe GmbH & Co. KG.

Müller Kunststoffe is a leading Central European developer and manufacturer of thermoplastic elastomer compounds (TPE Compounding) and has two production units in Lichtenfels, Germany. Müller Kunststoffe has an estimated annual turnover of approximately 46 MEUR with around 90 employees.

"The acquisition constitutes yet another step in our ambition to broaden our product range within our Compounding business area" says Georg Brunstam, President and CEO of HEXPOL Group. "The market for TPE compounding is undergoing great growth with interesting and increasing customer applications within the field of medical, consumer, general industry and automotive. Müller Kunststoffe perfectly complements our European TPE compounding operations where we already have units in the UK and Sweden. We are also right now building a manufacturing plant in southern China for TPE compounding. Müller Kunststoffe is a well-established and well-managed company with strong management and a strong brand."

HEXPOL is a world-leading polymers group with strong global positions in advanced polymer compounds (Compounding), gaskets for plate heat exchangers (Gaskets) and wheels made of plastic and rubber materials for truck and castor wheel application (Wheels).Customers are primarily OEM manufacturers of plate heat exchangers and trucks, global systems suppliers to the automotive- and engineering industry and the medical technology industry. The Group is organised in two business areas, HEXPOL Compounding and HEXPOL Engineered Products. HEXPOL's sales in 2010 amounted to approximately 3,800 MSEK. After the acquisition of Excel Polymers Group, the HEXPOL Group has approximately 3,100 employees in nine countries and pro forma sales in 2010 of above 6,300 MSEK.

IMAP advised the seller throughout the process.