The deal, which includes a manufacturing site at Goose Creek, Bushy Park in South Carolina, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.

The business being divested includes basic and direct dyes, organic pigments and special colorants that are used in numerous different paper and packaging applications such as tissue, carboard, newspaper, and high-end packaging solutions for jewelry, cosmetics and food stuffs. Revenues were roughly €50 million last year.

“We are very happy to see that our strategic objective to streamline Kemira’s portfolio is reaching the next milestone. Chromascape has shown ways to take colorants platform to new heights and thus secures further value creation for our joint customer base. We are excited to continue collaboration with the new owner of our colorants business after closing,” said Antti Matula, senior vice president global product lines & business development at Kemira.

On completion of the transaction, all 67 Kemira employees will transfer to Chromascape, which is headquartered in Independence, Ohio and operates six manufacturing and distribution facilities throughout the US.

Chromascape was bought by private equity group Heartwood Partners (formerly Capital Partners) on Apr. 6, 2018, in partnership with family shareholders and its management.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist