AkzoNobel Walks Away from Tikkurila
AkzoNobel has conceded defeat in its bid to buy Tikkurila, leaving the way clear for US rival PPG Industries to continue with its acquisition of the Finnish paints and coatings company.
News
Archroma and CleanKore Collaborate on Denim Dyeing
Swiss specialty chemicals company Archroma is partnering US firm CleanKore to advance sustainable dyeing processes for producing clothes made from denim.
Germany’s Merck to Expand Lipid Supply to BioNTech
Expanding its supply relationship with compatriot BioNTech, Germany’s Merck said it will “significantly accelerate” the supply of urgently needed lipids to vaccine maker BionTech at Mainz and increase the volume of deliveries up to the end of 2021.
Wacker Chemie to Buy California CDMO Genopis
German chemical producer Wacker Chemie is acquiring 100% of San Diego, California- headquartered CDMO Genopis from its two South Korean owners, Helixmith and Medivate Partner, both based in Seoul.
India’s Eternis Acquires Tennants Fine Chemicals
Indian aroma chemicals producer Eternis has acquired the UK’s Tennants Fine Chemicals and its wholly owned subsidiaries in Singapore and Shanghai, China, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is Eternis’ first acquisition outside of India.
BASF again Named World’s Most Valuable Chemicals Brand
A coalescing of factors has led to arrested growth across the chemicals sector this year, with the brand value of the top 25 most valuable chemicals brands contracting by 8% on average, according to the latest report by Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy.
Novozymes and FMC Link on Biological Pest Control
Danish biotech Novozymes has announced a collaboration with US agricultural sciences group FMC to research, develop and commercialize biological enzyme-based crop protection solutions. The move is part of Novozymes’ entry into the biocontrol segment, using its new enzyme-based technology.
BASF Commissions Custom Rhine Tanker
To facilitate shipping on the Rhine River at extremely low water levels, BASF has commissioned a special tanker, which is currently being built by Stolt Tankers. Scheduled for delivery in late 2022, it will be operated exclusively for the German chemical group.
Azelis Takes Over Italy’s Came
Continuing its acquisition spree of recent weeks, Azelis is to take over Italy’s Came Chemical Mineral and Engineering for an undisclosed sum. Headquartered in Milan, Came specializes in distributing chemicals for friction and sintering applications, the coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE) segment and cosmetics.
DuPont Sells Clean Technologies to Consortium
DuPont has agreed to sell its Clean Technologies business for $510 million to an international private equity consortium, comprising BroadPeak Global, Asia Green Fund and The Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur).
Johnson & Johnson’s Covid Vaccine 66% Effective
Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine just emerging from Phase 3 clinical trials showed 66% efficacy in moderate to severe disease, and as much as to 85% in severe disease, the US healthcare group said in its first report on trial results.
Aenova Expands Production of Tablets with Highly Potent Oncology Drugs
Contract manufacturer Aenova has put a third, high-performance tablet press including integrated automatic in-process control into operation at its site in Regensburg, Germany, to expand its production capacity of highly potent oncology drugs.
India’s Grasim Industries to Enter Paints Market
The board of directors at Grasim Industries, part of Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla, has approved the company’s entry into the paints business. It has also given the go-ahead for an initial spend of 50 billion Indian rupees – equating to about $683 million – over the next three years to establish the business, which aims to become a “strong number two player” in the Indian decorative paints market.
ADNOC Boosts Downstream Investment Plans
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has merged its downstream unit with its trading arm, creating the Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading Directorate. The company said the new unit will be a critical milestone toward its goal to responsibly deliver energy and energy products, particularly in its core Asian market, where it expects demand for refined and petrochemical products to grow over the next 10 years.
Bayer to also Manufacture CureVac Covid Shot
Vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 continue to dominate global pharma market headlines. As the pandemic drags on, new issues continuously arise, some of them discouraging, such as the emergence of more and more virus mutants or production glitches that threaten to curb supply.
And the Winners Are: Affix Labs, Caphenia, and Senorics
The CHEManager Innovation Pitch, CHEManager's start-up support initiative, entered its third year in January. But that wasn't the end of the 2020 cohort, as there were still the CHEManager Innovation Pitches of the Year to be selected. This took place at the end of January in a virtual jury session.
Brenntag Buys UK’s ICL Packed
Brenntag has strengthened its water treatment business in the UK with the acquisition of ICL Packed, its second purchase this year so far. Financial terms of the deal, which was signed and closed on the same day, were not disclosed.
EMA Greenlights AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine
As expected, the Europe Medicines Agency (EMA) on Jan. 29 gave the green light for AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine for use in the Covid-19 vaccine for use in the 27-member EU. Rather than this news, however, the political fallout over the bloc’s response to the drugmaker’s delivery delays announced at the beginning of the week continued to dominate the conversation.
Shintech Hikes PVC Capacity Again in Louisiana
Shintech, the US arm of Japan’s Shin-Etsu Chemical and the world’s largest producer of PVC, has announced a further vinyls expansion in Louisiana, as it continues work on another PVC project in the same state.
Brenntag to Buy Food Ingredients Distributor in China
In a move to expand its food and nutrition business in China, Germany-based international distributor Brenntag said it plans to acquire the majority of specialty ingredients distributor Zhongbai Xingye. The activities will become part of the global division of Brenntag Specialties. The deal values the business at about €90 million.
Novartis Offers EU Help on Vaccine Supply Front
With news of an EU Covid-19 vaccine shortage dominating international headlines, another European player is stepping up to try to bridge the gap. On the heels of French drugmaker Sanofi, Swiss pharma giant Novartis said this week it is exploring whether it can deploy its own manufacturing network to boost supply.
Trammo and Proton Partner on Green Ammonia
Global commodities trader Trammo and Dutch engineering group Proton Ventures have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on green ammonia – or what it termed NFuel – projects.
Polynt-Reichhold Up for Sale
The private equity owners of Polynt-Reichhold are seeking a sale of the specialty chemicals company, according to Reuters. Sources told the news agency that the value of any deal would likely be about €2.5 billion. An agreement is expected in the second quarter of this year.
DuPont, Chemours and Corteva Agree PFAS Fund
DuPont, along with Chemours, its former fluourochemicals and plastics business, and Corteva, the combined agrochemicals businesses of DuPont and Dow, have buried the hatchet and announced a cost-sharing agreement worth $4 billion to settle lawsuits over liability for discharges into US waterways of perfluorinated compounds such as PFAS and PFOA.
Oqema Establishes Strategic Partnership with CB Chemie
In a move to strengthen its market position in Austria and expertise in specialties, Oqema has acquired a majority share in Austria-based CB Chemie.
Univar Sells Distrupol to Private Equity
US-based multinational distributor Univar Solutions has agreed to sell its Distrupol subsidiary to GPD Companies, an affiliate of One Rock Capital Partners. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2021, were not disclosed.
LYB and Sinopec Finalize Ningbo JV Agreement
LyondellBasell (LYB) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, better known as Sinopec, have finalized plans for a 50:50 joint venture to produce propylene oxide (PO) and styrene monomer (SM) in China for the domestic market. A non-binding Memorandum Understanding (MoU) was signed at the end of 2019.
EU Says Vaccine Makers Must Meet Commitments
For months, pandemic watchers have weighed in on the potential inequity of vaccine distribution, focusing mainly on the First World hoarding supplies that Third World wouldn’t receive. Unexpectedly, it is now Europe that has its boxing gloves on, ready to claw back what it sees as its fair share.
Starboard Seeks to Control Corteva, Oust CEO
Activist investor Starboard Value is seeking to take control of agricultural giant Corteva and replace its CEO, Jim Collins. Its nominations are up for election at Corteva’s 2021 annual meeting, for which a date has not yet been set.
Corbion Expands North American Lactic Acid
Dutch lactic acid specialist Corbion said it plans to increase its North American capacity by about 40% to meet growing demand for natural ingredients in multiple industries and reinforce its position as a leading worldwide supplier of lactic acid and derivatives.
OMV Hikes Burghausen Olefins Output
Austrian multinational energy and petrochemicals group OMV is expanding and modernizing the cracker and associated units at its Burghausen refinery in Germany. The measures will increase annual ethylene and propylene capacity by about 50,000 t/y, meeting growth in demand for petrochemical products both in the Bavarian Chemical Triangle and in international markets, OMV said.
Oqema Acquires Claus Nitsche & Sohn
German chemical distributor Oqema has acquired Hamburg, Germany-based compatriot Claus Nitsche & Sohn. Oqema said that with its focus on high-quality essential oils, natural flavors, fragrances ingredients and innovative ingredients solutions, the product scope of Claus Nitsche & Sohn is a perfect complement to the groups’s Flavour & Fragrance range.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Enara Bio in Cancer Pact
German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim and UK biotech Enara Bio have agreed to collaborate on the research and development of novel targeted cancer immunotherapies, leveraging Enara Bio’s proprietary Dark Antigen Platform Technology (EDAPT).
EU Fumes over Covid Vaccine Delivery Delays
Following initial euphoria over conditional marketing approval of two Covid-19 vaccines by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in recent weeks, EU countries are turning sour on the first-past-the-post team, as Pfizer and BioNTec have informed authorities of what in a worst case scenario could be a massive shortfall in near-term deliveries.
Chemistry is ... Safety through Freedom of Design
American football is a fascinating sport that is gaining more and more fans in Germany and elsewhere.
