On September 5, 2008 Oaktree Capital Management entered into an agreement to acquire the Cyanco Joint Venture through a merger with Nevada Chemicals Inc. (NCI) and a purchase of the interest owned by CyPlus Corporation (Evonik). Today we are pleased to announce that this transaction has been successfully completed, and CYANCO is now wholly owned by a fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (OCM). The former joint venture will now operate as Cyanco Company, LLC. The acquisition includes the assets, technology and cyanide business of Evonik in the USA and Canada, which had been operated as CyPlus Corporation and CyPlus Canada, Inc. The technology offerings and non-liquid business in the USA will be operated as Cyanco Corporation, while the business in Canada will go forward as Cyanco Canada, Inc.
The subsidiaries are owned by Cyanco Holding Company, which is controlled by OCM, and John Burrows, former Vice-President & General Manager at the Cyanco Joint Venture, has been appointed President and CEO of the new company.
We are excited about these changes and the opportunities for the company under new ownership. We want to assure our Canadian and US customers and suppliers that you will continue to receive the high levels of service and quality that you have come to expect from your suppliers of sodium cyanide and related technology. You will be doing business with the same great people as before this ownership change and all of us remain committed to your business.
CYANCO began producing liquid sodium cyanide in 1990 at the Winnemucca facilities for the sole purpose of providing this strategic chemical to the mining industry in Nevada. This state-of-the-art zero discharge facility is a model of environmental and safety engineering. The Cadillac/Quebec Terminal has been serving the mining customers in Canada with liquid sodium cyanide solutions since 1998. The operations at Winnemucca/US facility and the Cadillac/Quebec Terminal are certified by independent auditors according to the high standards of the International Cyanide Management Code.