Global chemical distributor IMCD has made two further acquisitions to expand its presence in South African distributor Siyeza Fine Chem and VitaQualy of Brazil. Terms were not disclosed in either case.

Johannesburg-based Sizeya was founded in is active in pharmaceutical, veterinary, food and personal care speciality chemical ingredients. It employs 27 people, who will remain with the firm and generated a revenue of €11.7 million in 2019. The deal will close at the end of 2020, subject to customary regulatory review.

Consumer products giant Unilever has announced plans to source all of the carbon-based materials in its cleaning and laundry products from renewable or recycled sources, thus throwing down the gauntlet to chemical suppliers.  According to Unilever, this will cut the carbon footprint of its product formulations by up to 20%, since the chemicals it uses in cleaning and account for 46% – of that footprint. The company’s most famous brands include Persil, Omo, Domestos, Cif and Sunlight.

New York-based SK Capital Partners has acquired most of Huntsman’s stake in TiO₂ pigments and performance additives producer Venator Materials, which Huntsman span off in 2017. In all, it has bought a 40% stake or 42.5 million shares for about $100 million, including a 30-month option to buy the remaining 9.5 million at $2.15/share.

President Emmanuel Macron (above) and Bruno Lemaire, Minister of the Economy, Finance & Recovery, were both present on 28 August, when pharmaceutical CDMO Seqens unveiled a new HPAPI unit at its site in Villeneuve-La-Garenne, France. The total investment in the UPP30 project, as it is called, was about €30 million.

Evonik has acquired the Porocel Group, which has developed a technology for the rejuvenation of desulfurisation catalysts in a $210 million deal. This deal is scheduled to close by the end of 2020, subject to regulatory approval.

Executive board chairman Christian Kullmann commented: “This acquisition is the next logical step in the strategic development of our portfolio. Our focus is on stable and high-margin speciality chemicals.”

Japan’s DIC Corporation and its Sun Chemical subsidiary have agreed a strategic partnership with DuPont for degassing modules for water treatment. The aim is to double sales of these modules in industrial water treatment from the 2019 fiscal year to 2021. D

IC noted that its customers already often use its degassing modules in combination with DuPont water purification and separation products and technologies, such as ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis and ion exchange resins. This will further expand its service offer, the company said.

SOCMA has acquired the Specialty & Custom Chemicals show. We spoke to CEO Jennifer Abril to find out why

The US trade association SOCMA has purchased the Specialty & Custom Chemicals America show and made an industry event a key part of its offer for the first time in 15 years. There was a time, of course, when an industry event was basically what SOCMA did.