US-based Koch Ag & Energy Solutions (KAES) has acquired a 50% stake in Jorf Fertilizers Company III (JFC III) from Moroccan phosphates and fertilizer giant OCP and at the same time established a 50:50 joint venture with OCP.
Azelis is continuing its recent acquisition spree with agreements to buy two more companies in Lebanon and Turkey.
Malaysian petrochemicals giant Petronas Group (PCG) has conditionally agreed to acquire all of Swedish chemical producer Perstorp from Financière Forêt, a European private equity investor belonging to PAI Partners.
Major drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to buy US biotech Biohaven Pharmaceutical for around $11.6 billion. Founded in 2013 and based in New Haven, Connecticut, Biohaven specializes in drugs that target neurological diseases and rare disorders.
Mergers & acquisitions activity in the chemical distribution industry was high in 2021, but current macro-economic conditions may have a dampening effect on the number of deals that will conclude by the end of this year.
Asahi Kasei Medical, through a US subsidiary, has agreed to buy biologics CDMO Bionova Scientific for an undisclosed sum. Located in Fremont, California, Bionova provides process development services to biopharmaceutical companies, especially those developing next-generation antibody-based drugs.
North American biochemical companies Lygos and Flexible Solutions International (FSI) have agreed to merge in an all-stock transaction. The move follows a strategic investment made by FSI in Lygos in February 2021.
US paintmaker PPG has agreed to sell certain business activities in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon and Algeria, to French industrial group Océinde. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Viatris, the new US pharma created in the 2020 merger of Mylan and Pfizer’s Upjohn off-patent franchise, is selling its biosimilars portfolio to Biocon Biologics for up to $3.35 billion. Terms of the deal foresee Biocon paying $2 billion upfront, $1 billion in convertible preferred equity and $335 million in additional payments.
South African energy and chemical company Sasol has sold German subsidiary Sasol Wax to Awax, an Italian specialist in developing, producing and distributing wax products. The transaction excludes the South African Fischer-Tropsch hard wax business, which also includes the part that is managed by Sasol Wax.
US biopharma AbbVie is to take over Belgian biotech Syndesi Therapeutics, in a move that will expand its neuroscience portfolio. Under the agreed terms, AbbVie will pay Syndesi shareholders an upfront sum of $130 million, with potential additional payments of up to $870 million contingent on achieving certain milestones.
Major US-based multinational energy company Chevron has agreed to buy Renewable Energy Group (REG) in an all-cash transaction valued at $3.15 billion. Both companies’ boards of directors have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2022. REG shareholders have yet to give their approval.
Germany’s Merck has completed the acquisition of US biopharmaceutical CDMO Exelead for $780 million in cash following the fulfillment of all closing conditions. The takeover plans were announced in January this year.
Arkema is buying Shanghai Zhiguan Polymer Materials (PMP), a Chinese company that specializes in reactive hot-melt polyurethane (HMPUR) adhesives for the consumer electronics market. Financial terms of the deal, which is scheduled to close this quarter, were not disclosed.
DuPont has agreed to sell most of its Mobility & Materials (M&M) segment to Celanese for $11 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal – DuPont’s biggest since splitting from DowDuPont – is expected to close around the end of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.
German distribution group Oqema has acquired Alpkem, a Slovenia-based firm with its main offices in Kranj. Oqema said the deal strengthens its inorganic product line and circular economy business, as well as its infrastructure in southeast Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.
French pharma Ipsen has entered into exclusive negotiations for the sale of its global consumer healthcare business to compatriot firm Mayoly Spindler. The move, said Ipsen, is a major step forward in its strategy to sharpen its focus on specialty care.
US paints and coatings group PPG has entered into an agreement to buy the powder coatings business of Italian company Arsonsisi, boosting its offering in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Arsonsisi’s powder coating sales reached about $15 million last year.
Clariant has signed definitive agreements to divest its 50% stake in the joint venture that owns Scientific Design Company to its long-term joint venture partner, SABIC. The Saudi group will execute a call option raised in 2015 to acquire the stake in the business bought by Germany’s Süd-Chemie in 2003 prior to its acquisition by Clariant.
Hexion Holdings has completed the sale of its epoxy-based coatings and composites portfolio to Westlake Chemical for $1.2 billion. The deal comprises the epoxy specialty resins and base epoxy resins and intermediates product lines. Prior to the sale, Hexion had announced it would split into two independent companies.
US adhesives maker H.B. Fuller has purchased Apollo, the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of liquid adhesives, coatings and primers for the commercial roofing, industrial and construction markets.
With Germany’s foreign trade clearance still missing on the deal’s agreed Jan. 31 closing date, Munich-based Wacker Chemie declared its plans to sell its remaining 30.8% stake in silicon wafers manufacturer Siltronic to Taiwan’s GlobalWafers officially dead. For now, at least.
Ineos Styrolution has sold its StyLight thermoplastic composite materials business to German family-owned firm Ensinger for an undisclosed sum.
SABIC Agri-Nutrients has agreed to acquire a 49% stake in ETG Inputs Holdco for an enterprise value of $320 million. ETG Inputs Holdco blends and distributes fertilizers, seeds and crop protection products across Africa from its more than 350 distribution centers.
Aceto, a US-based manufacturer of specialty materials for life sciences and advanced technology end markets, has consolidated and integrated six recent acquisitions with an eye to developing its hybrid manufacturing/distribution model to supply high-growth end markets.
Dutch-based global distributor Barentz International, specializing in life science ingredients, has acquired unspecified assets of Chemcel, a distributor of specialty ingredients for the Mexican pharmaceutical and nutrition markets. Financial terms were not disclosed.
US private equity firm OpenGate Capital has bought two US chemical distributors in the space of a week. The first purchase on Jan. 11 was Chemsolv, a regional distributor of commodity and specialty chemicals headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia. The business was acquired from the Austin family, who continue to hold a stake.
Rumors that German pharmaceutical producer CordenPharma is up for sale have resurfaced following fresh reports that the company’s owner, International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), plans to formally solicit bids for the business at the end of January.
GlobalWafers’ planned takeover of Wacker Chemie’s remaining 30.8% stake in silicon wafers manufacturer Siltronic is looking somewhat shaky as the German economics ministry – following a year’s review of the plans – apparently remains unconvinced that the $5.3 billion deal is in the national interest.
German biotechnology company Enzymaster has completed the acquisition of Fujian Sanming Minhe Pharmaceutical Technology Co. (Sanming Minhe). Located in China’s Fujian province, 40% of Sanming Minhe’s capacity will be dedicated to manufacturing products using Enzymaster’s processing technology, increasing Enzymaster’s overall production capacity by 50%.
Swedish speciality chemicals producer Perstorp has acquired GEO Specialty Chemicals’ Di-Methylolpropionic Acid (DMPA) business, a move the company said underscores its commitment to providing sustainable specialty solutions to the resins and coatings segment as well as enhancing its strategic presence in polyurethane and alkyds dispersions for waterborne coatings.
GlaxoSmithKline said it has received and rejected three bids from consumer products giant Unilever to acquire its consumer drugs arm. The latest offer, worth £50 billion (£41.7 billion in cash and £8.3 billion in Unilever shares), fundamentally undervalues" the business,” the UK pharma said.
The backers of Hexion Holdings have agreed to sell the company to private equity investor American Securities for $30 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2022, following the closing of the sale of its Epoxy business to Westlake Chemical. That deal is still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.
US-based Ascensus Specialties has bought Wychem, a UK-based manufacturer of fine chemicals for pharmaceutical and specialty applications. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The buyer said it will continue to support Wychem’s manufacturing facility and offices in the UK.
Novartis and market watchers alike have been dropping repeated hits that a sale of the Swiss drugs giant’s Sandoz-branded generic drugs arm may be closer than has been hinted up to now. In an interview with German weekly news magazine Wirtschaftswoche last week, CEO Vas Narasimhan said, however, that beyond several requests for information no concrete offers are currently on the table.
