Private equity investor Cinven is acquiring MBCC Group’s admixture business from Swiss construction chemicals major Sika on the rebound. Earlier, the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had turned thumbs down on plans to sell the business to Ineos, citing antitrust concerns.
Dutch coatings technology specialist Stahl has completed the acquisition of ICP Industrial Solutions Group (ISG). The major producer of high-performance coatings for packaging and labeling applications is a division of Innovative Chemical Products (ICP).
US agrochemicals company Albaugh has acquired DuPont spinoff Corteva Agriscience’s straight-goods glyphosate business for an undisclosed sum. The deal is for intangible assets only, such as trade names, registrations, regulatory data, formulations, patents and know-how used worldwide, excluding Argentina.
2021 was historic for chemical M&As, it was a record-breaking year in terms of total value of deals. Therefore, it was expected that 2022 would only build upon this. However, the combination of high interest rates, supply chain bottlenecks and geopolitical instability saw both the number and value of deals take a significant hit throughout 2022.
LyondellBasell has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mepol Group, a manufacturer of recycled, high-performing engineering compounds based in Italy and Poland.
With the completion of its acquisition of Huntsman Textile Effects on Feb. 28, Swiss specialty chemicals producer Archroma, a portfolio company of US private investment firm SK Capital Partners, has revamped its operational structure.
UK specialty chemicals company Croda International has agreed to buy Solus Biotech, a South Korean company specializing in ceramide and phospholipid technologies and with emerging capabilities in natural retinol. The purchase price is about £232 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis.
Amgen’s proposed acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics for $28.7 billion, including debt, would be the largest healthcare deal since AstraZeneca’s $39 billion purchase of Alexion in 2021, if it goes ahead. As such, it is under intense scrutiny.
Colorcon, a US-based globally active manufacturer of pharmaceutical film coatings and specialty excipients, has signed a Put agreement to purchase Airnov Healthcare Packaging from compatriot private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners.
In its second acquisition of the year so far, Azelis has agreed to buy Lidorr Elements, a leading Israeli specialty chemical distributor active in the crop protection, industrial materials and care & nutrition markets.
Through subsidiary NextChem Holding, Maire Tecnimont is taking an 83.5% stake in Italian technology licensor and process engineering design company Conser, expanding its portfolio into high-value specialty chemicals and biodegradable plastics.
Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is to buy US biotech Concert Pharmaceuticals, gaining access to the latter’s lead product candidate deuruxolitinib for treating an autoimmune dermatological disease.
As well as serving as a financial partner to fledgling companies, the VC fund supports future efforts for business development and M&A opportunities within its own operations, Sanofi said. The fresh capital injection will also fuel the expansion and investment capacity of its own investment team on a global scale.
Ineos Enterprises has signed an agreement to buy MBCC Group’s admixture business from Sika. The deal is required by European antitrust regulators to approve Sika’s purchase of the MBCC Group, formerly BASF Construction Chemicals. The transaction is scheduled to complete in the first half of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
Canada’s Fluid Energy Group has sold its global modified and synthetic acid business, including the Triton industrial business, to Dorf Ketal FZE, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dorf Ketal Chemicals India, for an undisclosed sum.
Specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor Azelis has acquired 100% of Benelux smoke ingredients distributor Smoky Light.
Nouryon announced on Jan. 4 that it had closed its purchase of ADOB, a Poland-based supplier of chelated micronutrients, foliars and other specialty agricultural solutions.
German distribution giant Brenntag is retreating from plans to acquire US rival Univar. The company said in an ad hoc statement that it is “no longer pursuing these discussions.”
UK chemicals company Synthomer is selling its laminates, films and coated fabrics businesses to Germany’s Surteco Group for $255 million. The sale is part of Synthomer’s realignment of its portfolio to focus on specialty chemicals.
Japanese pharma Takeda is acquiring Nimbus Lakshmi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US clinical-stage drug discovery company Nimbus Therapeutics, and its tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor NDI-034858, which is undergoing trials for treating multiple autoimmune diseases, including psoriasis.
Amgen has agreed to buy Horizon Therapeutics for $28.3 billion including debt, boosting its portfolio of drugs for rare autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and beating rivals Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson, as well as a fourth unnamed company.
Danish companies Novozymes and Chr. Hansen have agreed to merge, in a move they termed a perfect match that will create a global leader in biosolutions.
Dussur, the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company, has agreed to buy a stake in Italian specialty additives manufacturer Italmatch Chemicals from private equity group Bain Capital. The Riyadh-based group will also invest €100 million in Italmatch as a capital increase.
Germany’s Merck has acquired Erbi Biosystems, a developer of the 2 ml micro-bioreactor platform technology known as the Breez. Financial terms were not disclosed. The company is based in the US state of Massachusetts.
US contract research organization Reaction Biology has acquired German contract laboratory Bioassay Labor für biologische Analytik and its wholly owned subsidiary Peptide Specialty Laboratories (PSL).
Consolidation in the distribution sector continues apace. Specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor Azelis has entered into an agreement to take over Chemiplas, a leading distributor of specialty chemicals, plastic raw materials and ingredients in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
US agricultural chemicals and seeds group Corteva has agreed to buy Stoller Group, a compatriot producer of biostimulants and plant nutrition products, for $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023.
UK specialty chemicals company Elementis has agreed to sell its chromium business to the Yildirim Group for $170 million. The deal values the business at 7.3 times the EBITDA posted in fiscal 2022 (30 June.)
AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire Neogene Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and manufacture of next-generation T-cell receptor therapies (TCR-Ts) – a promising and novel cell therapy approach to target cancer.
Shell has sealed a definitive agreement to buy Europe’s largest biogas producer, Denmark’s Nature Energy, for €1.9 billion. The move is being seen as another sign of a former oil major’s effort to diversify its portfolio and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels that put it on the energy map.
Brenntag and Univar Solutions have both confirmed reports from late last week that they are in talks about the German-multinational chemical distributor acquiring its US rival. Both companies stress that the negotiations are at a preliminary stage.
Following all approvals, International Chemical Investors (ICIG) has completed its acquisition of the compounds business of the French Benvic group. The closing follows a binding agreement signed in August.
US CDMO Cambrex has agreed to buy Snapdragon Chemistry, a compatriot company specializing in developing continuous flow and batch processes for APIs. Snapdragon is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, where it employs 74 people.
US titanium dioxide pigments and performance additives producer Venator Materials has agreed to sell its iron oxide business to Hong Kong’s Cathay Industries for an enterprise value of $140 million. The transaction is expected to close by the end of quarter one 2023.
International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has entered exclusive negotiations with Nippon Soda and made what it said is a “firm and binding offer” to acquire the Japanese group’s offshoot Métaux Spéciaux (MSSA), a sodium metal specialist.
