FRANKFURT, Germany/MUSCAT, Oman – Private equity firm Advent International has sold Oxea, a global manufacturer of oxo chemicals, to Oman Oil Co. (OOC), a commercial company wholly owned by the government of the Sultanate of Oman. The acquisition is subject to antitrust approvals and certain additional conditions.

With the acquisition of Oxea, OOC aims to become a vertically integrated global chemical leader in the downstream industry.

Philippe de Fitte, Vice President Downstream Strategic Business Unit of OOC, said, “Oman Oil Co.’s approach is to develop the downstream industry value chain by identifying new opportunities that address the business needs of globalization. There is a unique opportunity to build an integrated chemical platform in Oman from our current investment base. We see our acquisition of Oxea as the cornerstone for this platform by bringing its technology and expertise to Oman and connecting it to feedstock from our investments in Duqm. This will also contribute to Oxea’s expansion strategy, especially in the Asian growth markets, while Oman Oil Co. benefits from Oxea’s reach into European and North American markets.”

Oxea was formed by the merger of two separate business units that Advent acquired in 2007 from Celanese and Degussa (now Evonik). Today, Oxea’s portfolio comprises more than 70 oxo-based products for a diversified customer base and various end-market applications.