Headquartered at Bilbao, Spain, the Ineos business lays claim to being the country’s largest dedicated manufacturer of sulfuric acid and oleum, supplying end applications ranging from agriculture to chemical intermediates from a 400,000 t/y plant at the northern Spanish site.

ICIG said it plans to integrate the acquired assets into its wholly owned subsidiary WeylChem as part of that company’s advanced intermediates and reagents portfolio, which includes an existing sulfuric acid and oleum plant at Lamotte in northern France.

The buyer said the takeover agreement is an important step in the continued development of both businesses.  Going forward, ICIG said the combined activities will be one of the leading European sulfur chemicals players.

WeylChem’s CEO, Uwe Brunk, said the acquisition underlines the holding’s commitment to bolstering its position as a strategic partner in advanced intermediates and reagent, adding that Ineos Sulphur Chemicals and WeylChem’s French operations at Lamotte “complement each other perfectly.”

The current workforce of ICIG-owned companies currently totals around 5,685 people at more than 25 manufacturing facilities across Europe and the US.

ICIG’s activities are based on three main platforms: Pharmaceuticals under the CordenPharma brand, Fine Chemicals under the WeylChem brand and Chlorovinyls under the Vynova brand.

Active since 2004, the investor group now owns more than 20 independent chemicals and pharmaceutical businesses, all of which have origins in major global chemical or pharmaceutical corporations. Past deals included the acquisition of PVC producer Inovyn from Ineos and Solvay – the company is now known as Vynova. ICIG has also picked up assets from Clariant, Allessa and Sandoz.

Ineos itself built up its portfolio in a similar fashion, acquiring operating businesses carved out of other companies.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist