Nouryon Announces Acquisition, Divestiture
Late last month, on the same day, specialty chemicals company Nouryon announced both an acquisition and a divestiture.
On Jan. 30 Nouryon announced an agreement to acquire the carboxmethyl cellulose (CMC) Finland-based business of J.M. Huber Corporation. It also announced that it signed an agreement to divest its redispersible polymer powders business (the Elotex brand) to Celanese Corporation, a global chemical company.
The Acquisition
The transaction aims to broaden Nouryon’s portfolio of products in CMC—a sustainable, bio-based water-soluble polymer used as a thickener, binder, stabilizer and film former.
“We are excited by the opportunity to acquire this high-quality business,” said Charlie Shaver, Chairman and CEO of Nouryon.
“With an expansive range of products that complements our existing CMC portfolio, this business will allow us to offer our current and future customers a significantly broader set of solutions. This acquisition also confirms our commitment to investing in sustainable growth platforms. We look forward to welcoming the employees of this business into the Nouryon family.”
The business manufactures a complete line of CMC grades and serves customers in more than 80 countries, Nouryon notes, generating sales of around 135 million euros (roughly $147 million). The deal includes a manufacturing facility as well as a research and development facility located at Äänekoski, Finland. Around 240 employees from the business will transfer to Nouryon.
The Divestiture
As part of the acquisition, Celanese will acquire all of Nouryon’s global production facilities for RPP across Europe and Asia, all products under the Elotex portfolio, as well as all customer agreements, technology and commercial facilities globally.
Elotex’s RPP line is included in product applications such as:
Both deals are expected to close in the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval. The financial terms were not disclosed.
