Ascensus Specialties, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Strem Chemicals.
Strem is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals used in the life sciences and microelectronics sectors. The company’s products include high-purity, research-grade catalysts, ligands, organometallics, metal carbonyls and CVD/ALD (atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition) precursors that are used by manufacturers, researchers and academics in the life sciences and microelectronics sectors. Strem also provides synthesis and manufacturing services for high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).
Strem was founded in 1964 by Michael Strem and is headquartered north of Boston in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Ephraim Honig, the CEO of Strem, is joining Ascensus as its chief science and innovation officer and will oversee the combined businesses’ research and development activities.
“We thoughtfully chose Ascensus as the partner for the next phase of Strem’s growth,” said Mr. Strem. “Our employees’ interests and well-being have been my top priority, and the strong cultural fit will provide opportunities for our team. The additional resources and global reach of Ascensus will deliver Strem’s strong capabilities to an even broader audience of customers.”
According to Wind Point, Ascensus is the largest global producer of dry and liquid sodium borohydride which is used predominantly as a synthesis and process aid in the production of a variety of APIs including antiretrovirals for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Sodium borohydride is also used to bleach wood pulp in the paper industry.
Bellevue, Washington-headquartered Ascensus was founded in 1939 as Metal Hydride, Inc. and was acquired by Thiokol Chemical in 1976. Thiokol merged with Morton International in 1982 to become Morton-Thiokol. In 1999, Rohm & Haas acquired Morton-Thiokol and in 2009 Rohm & Haas in turn was acquired by Dow Chemical.
Wind Point acquired Ascensus in January 2015 from Dow Chemical as an add-on for Vertellus Specialties, a former Wind Point portfolio company (exited in November 2016), and Ascensus, led by CEO Mike Huff, is now a standalone company under Wind Point ownership.
“We are extremely excited to have Strem join the Ascensus family,” said Mr. Huff. “Strem has a world-class team and a renowned reputation that has been methodically fostered for over half a century under the leadership of Michael Strem and Ephraim Honig. We will look to further support the team’s highly technical R&D culture, differentiated product offering and value-added customer relationships. Together, Ascensus and Strem will be a global specialty chemicals leader serving the demanding, high-growth life sciences and specialties markets.”
“Strem represents an excellent addition to the Ascensus platform,” said Alex Washington, a managing director at Wind Point. “The combined business will have capabilities to offer solutions ranging from lab to large scale commercial production. Strem’s industry-leading technical competency is a meaningful addition to Ascensus’ existing capabilities, and Ascensus looks forward to working with Ephraim and the Strem team to amplify new product and application development efforts.”
In September 2019, Ascensus completed another add-on acquisition with the buy of Callery from Edgewater Capital. Callery was formed by Edgewater to acquire the inorganic specialties business of chemical giant BASF in March 2017. Callery is a Pennsylvania-based developer and producer of inorganic chemicals that are used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, electronics, polymers, and adhesives markets.
Chicago-based Wind Point invests from $50 million to $100 million in companies with EBITDA of at least $10 million. Industries of interest include business services, consumer products and industrial products. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners IX LP which closed in February 2021 with $1.5 billion of capital. Fund IX is the largest fund ever raised by Wind Point.
Grace Matthews was the financial advisor to Strem on this transaction.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | April 9, 2021
Cerberus Capital Management and Koch Minerals & Trading have partnered to acquire the performance chemicals business of publicly traded PQ Group for approximately $1.1 billion.
“This milestone is a testament to the strength of our business, talent of our team, and our bright future ahead,” said Mr. Beninati. “We are thrilled to have the support of Cerberus and Koch, who bring a wealth of strategic, financial, and industry expertise. With their partnership, we will be well-positioned to invest in our business, drive product development, and build on our customer relationships as we embark on this new chapter.”
“We are excited by today’s announcement for the sale of our performance chemicals business at a favorable valuation,” said Belgacem Chariag, the chairman, president and CEO of PQ Group. “In 2019, we laid out a strategic path aimed at driving greater value for our shareholders. The plans we set in motion are now coming to fruition. At year-end 2020, we completed the sale of the performance materials business as a first step. With this agreement to divest the performance chemicals business, we are accelerating the next and most critical step in our strategic transformation.”
Publicly traded Superior Plus has agreed to sell its specialty chemicals business to Birch Hill Equity Partners for a total consideration of C$725 million.
Headquartered near Toronto in Etobicoke, Ontario and led by President Ed Bechberger, ERCO has approximately 580 employees and operates eight production facilities in North America and one in Chile and is the second-largest producer of sodium chlorate in North America.
“We are excited to enter into this transaction with Birch Hill,” said Luc Desjardins, the president and CEO of Superior. “The sale of the specialty chemicals business is an important component of our strategic plan and provides us with additional capital to further accelerate our accretive growth strategy in the U.S. propane market.”
Toronto-based 
Audax Private Equity has agreed to sell specialty chemical maker Gabriel Performance Products to publicly traded Huntsman Corporation for $250 million in cash.
Huntsman has been actively pursuing transactions in 2020. In May, Huntsman acquired CVC Thermoset Specialties, a maker of specialty additives and epoxy curing agents with two manufacturing facilities in Ohio and New Jersey, for $300 million in cash from Emerald Performance Materials, a portfolio company of American Securities. CVC had revenues of $115 million in 2019 and the $300 million purchase price was equal to an adjusted EBITDA multiple of 10x, or 7x if expected operating synergies are included.
“With the buy of Gabriel, we conclude a series of strategic initiatives in our advanced materials division that we started in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Peter Huntsman, the CEO of Huntsman. “Our initial intent was to complete the acquisitions of Gabriel and CVC simultaneously, together with the divestiture of our India DIY business earlier this year. Despite the challenges created by COVID, I am pleased that we have already closed on two of the transactions and intend to close on the acquisition of Gabriel within the first quarter of 2021.”
Shrieve Chemical Company, a portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, has acquired the styrene business unit and other assets of CLP Chemicals.
Westport, Connecticut-based 
New Mountain Capital has sold Gelest to Mitsubishi Chemical America, the U.S. subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical.
“Since partnering with Gelest in 2017, we have been extremely impressed by the management team and Gelest’s ability to innovate continuously to serve the evolving needs of its demanding customers,” said Andre Moura, a managing director at New Mountain. “We are proud to have supported Gelest’s execution of an organic and inorganic growth strategy, and we thank everyone at Gelest for an exceptional partnership.”
Tokyo-based 
H.I.G. Capital has made an investment in USALCO, a provider of specialty chemicals. The investment in USALCO is H.I.G.’s tenth current platform in the chemical sector.
“We are very excited to partner with Peter and David and the USALCO management team, who have a proven track record of building a best-in-class business and providing the highest levels of quality for their customers,” said Keval Patel, a managing director at H.I.G. ”The company’s steady and growing revenue profile, highly efficient operations and numerous growth opportunities make this an attractive investment.”
Mitsubishi Chemical (MCC), through its US subsidiary Mitsubishi Chemical America (MCA), has agreed to acquire Gelest, a portfolio company of New Mountain Capital.
“Since partnering with Gelest in 2017, we have been extremely impressed by the management team and Gelest’s ability to innovate continuously to serve the evolving needs of its demanding customers,” said Andre Moura, a managing director at New Mountain. “We are proud to have supported Gelest’s execution of an organic and inorganic growth strategy, and we thank everyone at Gelest for an exceptional partnership.”
Tokyo-based 
Aceto, a maker of specialty materials and a portfolio company of New Mountain Capital, has acquired Syntor Fine Chemicals.
Following a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in February 2019, New Mountain acquired the chemicals business of publicly-traded Aceto Corporation (OTC: ACETQ) for $338 million in April 2019. Today, 
“The acquisition of Syntor represents significant progress in New Mountain’s strategic plan for Aceto, as the company continues its track record of growth both organically and through acquisition,” said Andre Moura, a managing director at New Mountain. “The partnership creates significant cross-sell opportunities that benefit customers and supply partners to both businesses.”
Milliken & Company has agreed to acquire specialty chemicals maker Borchers Group from The Jordan Company (TJC).
“Devlin and the Borchers team have guided the company through a period of strong organic and acquisition growth,” said Erik Fagan, a partner at TJC. “We are proud to have partnered with Borchers management and excited to see the continued impact their products will have for their customers.”
