CPS Performance Chemicals, a portfolio company of private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners, has acquired GEO Specialty Chemicals for an undisclosed sum.

Headquartered in Ambler, Pennsylvania, USA, GEO supplies specialty chemicals and materials to the coatings, adhesives, medical, water treatment and construction markets. The company operates 19 production sites throughout the US and Europe.

“GEO significantly adds to the scale of CPS and positions us well in a number of growing end markets.  Our strategy will focus on investing in GEO’s businesses which complement many of CPS’s existing positions in attractive end markets such as CASE [coatings adhesives,  sealants and elastomers] additives, specialty chemicals for pharma and medical uses, nutrition, personal care and a wide range of industrial applications,” said Jeremy Steinfink, president and CEO of CPS. “We see opportunities to expand across the portfolio where we can leverage our chemical expertise and continue to be a reliable commercial partner.”

CPS said GEO has recently undertaken a number of expansions to increase its presence in end-use markets such as contact lenses, additives for oil & gas drilling, and municipal and industrial water treatment, building upon its strong position in methacrylate chemistry where it is a leading supplier to the global coatings and adhesives segments. The company is also the largest US producer of glycine, a key amino acid used in various nutrition and personal care products.

GEO’s chief executive Ken Ghazey will join the CPS board of directors.

Arsenal created CPS as a new platform focused on specialty polymers and chemicals for high-value end markets through the purchase of Cyalume Technologies in September 2017. In October 2018, CPS purchased FAR Chemical, a producer of specialty organic chemicals for the pharma, composites, coatings, electronics, flavors & fragrances and personal care industries.

In January this year, GEO announced it had settled all antitrust litigation relating to the sale of liquid aluminum sulfate. GEO and several other companies were accused of conspiring to artificially inflate the price of the chemical, which is used in the water treatment industry.