Buyout deal of the week: Arysta LifeScience

Industrial Equity Investments Ltd., an Ireland-based global investment firm owned by Permira, last week completed its $2.4 billion buyout of Arysta LifeScience, a Tokyo-based agrochemicals company. Permira provided all of the equity, while debt came from JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereinsbank (HVB) and Aozora Bank. The seller was Olympus Capital Holdings Asia.

Arysta is the Deal of the Week because it closed. Not convincing enough? OK, try this: A multi-billion dollar buyout not only closes in 2008 (you can count those on one hand), but also has its debt fully syndicated ahead of completion (you can count those on one hand after an unfortunate wood shop accident).

Part of that is a credit to the bankers, and part is simply a reflection of Arysta being based in Asia. It’s kind of like Bain Capital’s buyout of 3Com—well, except for the part about getting done. —Dan Primack