LANXESS completes acquisition of Emerald Kalama Chemical
LANXESS has completed the acquisition of US-based specialty chemicals manufacturer Emerald Kalama Chemical. LANXESS signed a purchase agreement on 14 February, and all required regulatory approvals have been received.
LANXESS financed the purchase price of around $1.04bn (€870m) from liquid funds.
With the closing of the transaction, LANXESS grows by around 470 employees and the three production sites in Kalama/Washington (USA), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Widnes (UK).
The second-biggest in LANXESS’s history, this acquisition sees the company expanding its range of specialty chemicals for industrial applications, especially for the plastics, paints and coatings as well as adhesives industries.
The new LANXESS portfolio now includes the K-Flex range of non-phthalate plasticisers and coalescents for adhesives, coatings, sealants and vinyl applications. K-Flex plasticisers optimise production processes and end product properties. They are highly compatible with polar polymers in water-based adhesive systems and improve film formation in paints and coatings. During the manufacture of PVC articles, the rapid-gelling dibenzoates can help to speed up processing.
Dr Thomas Facklam, Head of Global Application Technology in the Polymer Additives business unit, said: “The new products broaden the existing LANXESS range and offers growth opportunities in the area of non-phthalate plasticisers which meet the most modern requirements of the plastics processing industry.”
Other important additions to the overall portfolio for industrial applications include Kalama Vitroflex plasticizers for the manufacture of polysulfide sealants and Modulast modifiers, which were developed for use in reactive polyurethane systems.
Furthermore, benzoic acid, benzaldehyde and benzoate salts supplements the LANXESS offer in future. These are used as intermediates, building blocks and additives in a number of industrial applications, e.g. for the production of esters, alkyd resins or corrosion inhibitors