US chemicals company Huntsman has acquired Demilec, a leading North American manufacturer of spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation systems, from an affiliate of private equity group Sun Capital Partners.

Huntsman is paying $350 million in cash for Demilec, which has annual revenues of around $170 million and operates two manufacturing plants in Arlington, Texas, USA and Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. The transaction is expected to close by the end of quarter two.

“This bolt-on acquisition is a great fit to our core strategy to move downstream. The integration of Demilec into our polyurethanes business offers significant synergies and delivers substantially higher and very stable margins by pulling through large amounts of upstream polymeric MDI into specialized spray foam systems,” said Peter Huntsman, chairman, president and CEO of Huntsman.

Tony Hankins, president of Huntsman’s polyurethanes division, added that the SPF industry, including Demilec, has been seeing double-digit growth, which Huntsman expects to sustain as it rapidly builds its North American platform and expands into international markets.

In separate news, Huntsman has appointed Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Italy’s Versalis, as a new independent director with effect from Mar. 7. Ferrari previously worked for Huntsman from 1997 to 2011, ultimately serving as president of its Performance Products division. He is also a director of Venator, Huntsman’s former TiO2 and specialty chemicals business that was spun off last year.