2003/11/10 Kraton

Texas Pacific Group to Acquire KRATON Polymers from Ripplewood Holdings, LLC
http://www.kraton.com/kraton/generic/menu.asp?ID=504

Texas Pacific Group ("TPG") and Ripplewood Holdings LLC, both private investment firms, today jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement under which TPG will acquire the KRATON Polymers Group of Companies ("KRATON Polymers"or the "Company", headquartered in Houston, Texas, from Ripplewood and other investors. The transaction values KRATON at a total enterprise value of $770 million and is expected to close by the end of the year.

KRATON Polymers is a premier, global specialty chemicals company and the world's largest producer of styrenic block copolymers ("SBCs"), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by the Company over forty years ago. SBCs enhance the performance of applications including adhesives, sealants, asphalt and bitumen modification, footwear, packaging, compounding and personal hygiene products. The Company has the leading position in all of its core markets and is the only producer of SBCs with global manufacturing capability. The Company has manufacturing facilities in Belpre, OH, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Brazil and Japan. The business has annual revenues in excess of $600 million.

Texas Pacific Group, founded in 1993 and based in Fort Worth, TX, San Francisco, CA, and London, is a private investment partnership managing over $13 billion in assets. TPG seeks to invest in world-class franchises across a range of industries including significant investments in leading retailers (Petco, J.Crew, Punch Taverns - UK), branded consumer franchises (Burger King, Del Monte, Ducati), technology (ON Semiconductor, MEMC, Seagate), airlines (Continental, America West), and healthcare (Oxford Health Plans, Quintiles Transnational).

European Report, Sept 20, 2000

Shell Sells Kraton To Ripplewood
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WXI/is_2000_Sept_20/ai_65327847

The Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell has announced the sale of its world-wide polymer production and marketing division Kraton, concluding its programme of investment withdrawal launched in December 1998. The Shell Board has indicated that Kraton has been sold to an American subsidiary of Ripplewood Holdings but will not be revealing the price or conditions of the transaction.