Röhm is stemming the acquisition announced last December with support from its owner, private equity firm Advent International.

At the time, the Darmstadt-based company said the deal, for which financial terms have not been disclosed, was key to its strategy to advance its transparent semi-finished products business into a leading multi-polymer global player.

In future, CEO Michael Pack said, the company’s customers will be able to buy Röhm’s leading transparent PMMA brands Plexiglas and Acrylite as well as SABIC’s Lexan polycarbonate products from one supplier, while profiting from “unparalleled” technical and application expertise.

Adding the Lexan business – acquired by the Saudi group in the 2007 buyout of GE Plastics – not only further strengthens Röhm's leading position in transparent sheets, but also boosts its position in films and transportation, Pack said.

The Functional Form products are used across a wide variety of industries, ranging from building and construction to consumer electronics, medicine and aviation. The Saudi-owned business has some 700 employees and operations in 19 countries.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist