Dolan Holding sold European Carbon Fiber to Solvay
Dolan Holding GmbH, a company owned by funds managed by Alpina Partners and Dr. Jan Verdenhalven sold European Carbon Fiber GmbH (ECF), a Germany-based producer of high-quality “precursor” for large-tow (50K) polyacrylonitrile-based (PAN-based) carbon fibers, to Solvay. The parties agreed that the terms of the transaction will not be disclosed.
In April 2015, Alpina and Dr. Jan Verdenhalven acquired ECF from the Lenzing Group via a holding company together with Dolan GmbH, a leading producer of spun-dyed acrylic fibers. Dolan is not part of the transaction.
“We were looking for a strong new owner for ECF and truly believe that Solvay is the right partner to further develop the business in the future”, commented Dr. Florian Strehle, a partner with Alpina.
“It is important for ECF that Solvay is a long-standing world leader with tremendous industrial experience in the carbon fiber and composite business,” added Dr. Jan Verdenhalven, managing director and co-owner of Dolan Holding GmbH. “The company now has very promising growth perspectives.”
Alpina is an owner-managed, independent investment firm with approximately 300 million euros in assets under management. The firm focuses on small and mid-sized businesses in Europe with strong technical USPs. Alpina supports entrepreneurs and management teams to implement its growth strategies. Alpina is supported by the European Union through the “Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme” (CIP).
Dr. Jan Verdenhalven is a private investor with several years of investing and management experience in the chemical and carbon fiber industry.