LONDON — Apollo Global Management agreed on Friday to buy Taminco, a Belgian chemicals company, from a rival private equity firm, CVC Capital Partners, for $1.4 billion.

The announcement comes after CVC withdrew an initial public offering for Taminco last year because of a lack of investor interest in the company. The private equity firm had bought Taminco, based in Ghent, Belgium, in 2007 for roughly $1 billion.

“Taminco is a superior chemical company with an impressive portfolio of products, strong relationships with its customers, a talented management team and highly skilled employees,” Scott Kleinman, lead partner of Apollo’s private equity business, said in a statement.

Taminco is one of the world’s largest specialist alkylamine producers. The chemical products are used in a number of industries, including solvents, pharmaceuticals and food production. The company has approximately 800 employees in 17 countries.

“Apollo has a proven track record of making successful investments in chemical businesses and we are excited about partnering with them to further develop and grow our business,” Taminco’s chief executive, Laurent Lenoir, said in a statement. “We expect this relationship will provide considerable strategic benefit to our customers and employees around the world.”

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2012.

Article source: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/apollo-global-management-to-buy-chemicals-business-for-1-4-billion/?partner=rss&emc=rss