Compass Minerals in Purchase of Produquímica

Cleary Gottlieb represented Compass Minerals, a U.S. based essential minerals company, in its purchase of a 35% interest in Produquímica Industria e Comercio, one of Brazil’s leading manufacturers and distributors of specialty plant nutrients, for approximately R$452 million (approximately $116 million).  The transaction closed on December 23, 2015.

Produquímica has two primary businesses.  Its agricultural productivity business manufactures and distributes a broad range of specialty plant nutrition solution-based products.  Its chemical solutions business manufactures and markets specialty chemicals, primarily for the water treatment industry and use in other industrial processes in Brazil.

Compass Minerals is a leading provider of essential minerals that provide solutions to nature’s challenges, including salt for winter roadway safety and other consumer, industrial and agricultural uses, and specialty plant nutrition minerals that improve the quality and yield of crops.  The company produces its minerals at locations throughout the U.S. and Canada and in the U.K.  The Produquímica acquisition is its first investment in Latin America.