NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Black Bay Energy Capital (“Black Bay”), a private equity firm focused on the North American energy and chemical sectors, has announced the sale of NexGen Chemical Technologies (“NexGen”) to Foremark Performance Chemicals (“Foremark”), a portfolio company of SK Capital Partners (“SK Capital”). NexGen is a provider of innovative natural gas sweetening solutions that improve the efficiency, environmental footprint, and total cost of operations for E&P and midstream operators. Foremark is a technology-driven leader in natural gas sweetening formulations and formalin manufacturing. Foremark’s acquisition of NexGen will enable rapid scale-up of manufacturing for ScavGen™ 1014, NexGen’s flagship chemical technology.
Black Bay, Chris Williamson, and James Begeal founded NexGen in 2018 to deliver high performing, differentiated chemical solutions for treating sour natural gas (also known as natural gas sweetening). Since that time, NexGen has experienced significant growth in market share, revenue, and profitability due to the numerous technical and economic advantages that ScavGen 1014™ provides to clients.
“The NexGen team has embodied what Black Bay looks for in a portfolio company management team. Chris, James, Ali Yousef, Dallas Watson, and the rest of the NexGen team are highly technical and driven market experts who were true partners. We are thankful for their partnership and thrilled to watch the next chapter of the NexGen story unfold under Foremark and SK Capital’s ownership,” said Guy Cook, Partner of Black Bay.
Chris Williamson, CEO and Co-Founder of NexGen, said “We couldn’t have asked for a more committed, patient, and hard-working financial partner than the Black Bay team. Their experience in the oil and gas & chemical sectors, specifically their understanding of the sour gas landscape, was invaluable as we recruited key players to our team and scaled the business.” James Begeal, CTO and Co-Founder of NexGen, added “The market need for more efficient natural gas sweetening continues to grow, and Black Bay, Foremark, and SK all understand and appreciate how important this is. We are thankful for the partnership with Black Bay and we’re very excited to be partnered with Foremark and SK going forward.”
“Innovative, efficient, and economic technologies are required to enable the transition in energy and chemical markets. The NexGen team embraced these goals and built a world-class company and technology suite around this thesis. We are proud to have been a part of NexGen and excited to deliver a fantastic return to our investors,” added Tom Ambrose, Partner of Black Bay.
Black Bay and NexGen’s primary legal and financial advisors were Fishman Haygood (Chip Saulsbury) and PPHB (Joe Buchanan), respectively.
About Black Bay Energy Capital
Black Bay is a private equity firm that invests equity capital in partnership with entrepreneurial management teams who are building high-growth companies in the North American energy and chemical industries. Black Bay’s strategy is to target companies with innovative products and services that help their clients to reduce costs, improve operations, and achieve ESG initiatives. The firm’s objective is to drive success through a relentless commitment to establishing and cultivating a true partnership with portfolio company management teams, and a belief that deeply rooted partnerships generate outsized returns by fostering collaboration and creativity. Black Bay is currently investing out of its second fund and has approximately $565 million of assets under management. For more information, please visit www.blackbayenergy.com.
About NexGen
NEXGEN is a forward-thinking company that takes a non-traditional approach to oilfield chemistry and applications. Utilizing the experience and expertise of our team, we work with oil and gas operators and other business partners to design custom solutions to address costly operational problems and inefficiencies. Our mission is to deliver truly differentiating chemical technology to increase efficiency and reduce the total cost of operations. NEXGEN is a privately held oilfield service company comprised of a staff of highly experienced chemical application experts. The Company is headquartered in the Houston, Texas area and provides services to the upstream and midstream sectors. For more information, please visit www.nexgenchem.com.
About Foremark
Foremark Performance Chemicals, headquartered in League City, TX, is a technology-driven leader in natural gas sweetening formulations and the production of chemical building blocks used in numerous end products. Foremark leverages its sustainable production processes to create solutions that support the transition to clean energy and increase performance and efficiency. The business is a leading producer of a broad portfolio of triazines and formalin, and operates out of a highly automated, integrated manufacturing facility in La Porte, TX, that is strategically located on the Houston ship channel and among the world’s largest and efficient producers. Foremark has earned the Platinum Sustainability Medal from EcoVadis, which is awarded to the top 1% of rated companies based on their environmental impact and sustainability program. For more information, visit www.foremarkperformance.com.
About SK Capital Partners
SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, ingredients and life sciences sectors. The firm seeks to build strong and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth and profitability, as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio of businesses generates revenues of approximately $18 billion annually, employs more than 20,000 people globally, and operates more than 200 plants in over 30 countries. The firm currently has approximately $7.8 billion in assets under management. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.
