Germany’s C.S.B. Buys UK Compliance Firm

C.S.B., a Germany-based provider of regulatory compliance services, has bought the UK’s Regulatory Facilitation Company (ReFaC), part of the Chemical Business Association (CBA), for an undisclosed sum. The deal completed on Mar. 4.

Having developed a contingency plan to relocate ReFaC to another EU member state because of Brexit, CBA said it then received an unsolicited approach from C.S.B., which was interested in acquiring the business. “This was an ideal solution for ReFaC and its clients,” said CBA chief executive Peter Newport.

Lars Dobbertin, general manager at C.S.B., commented: “We will continue to deliver ReFaC’s high quality compliance services from its UK office to its existing clients selling into EU markets. We are now also in an excellent position to offer clients the full regulatory support for the UK after Brexit. Our plan is to grow the business by helping companies comply with both UK and EU chemical regulations through an enhanced service portfolio.”

ReFaC was formed in 2006 to provide UK firms with a low-cost method of meeting their obligations under Europe’s chemical regulation REACH. The Chemical Business Association acquired all of ReFaC’s share capital in 2015.

Based in Krefeld and employing around 20 people, C.S.B. focuses on providing authoring services for safety data sheets along with advice and consultancy work for Europe’s REACH and biocides regulations, the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), the transportation of dangerous goods and toxicological risk assessments.