MKS Instruments of Andover, Massachusetts, has agreed to acquire advanced electroplating company Atotech. The $16.20/share deal gives Atotech an enterprise value of about $6.5 billion. Private equity firm Carlyle Group, which currently owns 79% of Atotech, has committed to vote in favour. The transaction should be completed in Q4, subject to regulatory approval in Jersey, where Atotech is registered, and other customary closing conditions.
Alongside Governor John Bel Edwards, BioLab has announced a $170 million investment to build a new chlorine product facility in Westlake, Louisiana. Due to be completed in May 2022, it will create 82 direct jobs and an estimated 231 indirect ones, while facilitating the retention of 19 more.
Black Diamond Capital Management is to become the controlling shareholder of the Polynt-Reichhold group, after investment group Investindustrial agreed to sell its stake for €1.3 billion. Affiliates of JP Morgan and Apollo Capital Management have provided unspecified equity commitments towards the deal, which should close within six months.
Black Diamond and Investindustrial became partners in Polynt-Reichhold after the two companies merged in May 2017. “In the years following the merger, the combined company’s performance has substantially improved,” claimed Investindustrial.
German speciality chemicals company Pulcra Chemicals has acquired Devan from private equity fund Pentahold, its first ever such deal. Terms were not disclosed. Both are mainly focused on textile chemicals and this was mainly what drove the acquisition.
Anupam Rasayan has made a splash in the news with its recent IPO and a major new deal. We spoke with some of the senior executives
The first half of 2021 has seen some major developments in the 44-year history of Indian speciality chemicals company Anupam Rasayan. The company launched an IPO and subsequently announced a major new contract with an unnamed multinational customer.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has approved the world’s first toxicology testing strategy without animal testing. This can now be used to test for skin sensitisation and any products that pass can be placed on the market.
The strategy, which consists of three ‘alternative’ methods, was jointly developed and validated over ten years by BASF and Givaudan, in partnership with various companies and scientific institutions, notably IIVS. It is claimed to have better predictivity for human allergy risks than traditional animal testing.
Chinese CDMO WuXi STA is to build a new pharmaceutical clinical and commercial manufacturing complex on a 78-hectare campus in Middletown, Delaware. This has been supported by the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, other state departments and local government bodies, and received grants from the Delaware Strategic Fund.
