Houlihan Lokey Advises Sasol Wax

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Sasol Wax GmbH, the European wax activities of Sasol Ltd. (JSE:SOL), has been acquired by the AWAX Group (AWAX). Excluded from the sale is the South African Fischer-Tropsch hard wax business. The transaction was signed on 20 December 2021 and closed on 1 March 2022.

Sasol Wax GmbH is a leading manufacturer of high-quality wax products with revenues of c. €360 million in FY 2021. At the plant in the port of Hamburg, around 390 employees produce a wide range of waxes, petroleum jellies, and wax emulsions. Further emulsion plants are located in Linz, Austria, and Birkenhead, England. The products are used worldwide in a wide variety of processing industries, including hot-melt adhesives, paper and packaging, paints and varnishes, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, wood-based materials, candles, and road construction.

Sasol is a global chemicals and energy company that produces and markets a range of high-quality products in 27 countries. In FY 2021, Sasol generated revenues of €11.3 billion and a related EBITDA of €2.3 billion. Sasol is publicly listed on the Johannesburg and New York Stock Exchanges.

AWAX is an international group of companies exclusively focused on waxes and operating globally. The group has 40 years of experience in developing, producing, and distributing unique wax products for all industrial applications, with a leadership in sustainable waxes.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Sasol Wax. This deal highlights the firm’s deep chemicals sector expertise and successful track record with corporate carve-outs.