At the end of June, three more major exhibitions that attract high attendances from the fine and speciality chemicals and which were due to take place in the autumn, were cancelled or postponed to 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic: CPhI Worldwide, In-Cosmetics, ChemUK and Making Pharmaceuticals. This leaves only Chemspec Europe among the major events still going ahead, as things stand.
Via CA Clover Intermediate II Investments, private equity firm the Carlyle Group is to invest about $940 million in fresh equity capital for a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma, the healthcare subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Piramal Enterprises (PEL). This values the business at $2,775 million with an upside component of up to $360 million depending on the company’s performance this financial year.
Nouryon has completed two recently announced advances: the acquisition of the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) business of J.M. Huber, including a manufacturing plant and advanced R&D facility located in Äänekoski, Finland; and doubling organic peroxides at its plant in Itupeva, Brazil.
Clariant has taken what exective chairman Hariold Kottmann (above) called “another significant step towards becoming a pure-play speciality chemical company”, by completing the sale of its Masterbatches business to PolyOne on 1 July. It expects to divest the Pigments business shortly, after which it will make with an extraordinary cash distribution of CHF 3.00/share to its shareholders.
Small molecule CDMO Cambrex is to spend $3.6 million to increase flexible drug substance manufacturing capacity by 6 m3 (25%) at Karlskoga, Sweden, in response to growing demand for commercial-scale API manufacturing. Engineering work has already commenced and should be completed by November.
Bayer has made a series of agreements that, it said, “will substantially resolve” major outstanding Monsanto litigation at a cost it up to $5 billion in 2020, the same in 2021 and any more outstanding amounts in 2022. These have been unanimously approved by its board.
Most significantly, the company will pay $8.8-9.6 billion to resolve about 75% of the ongoing litigation related to the Roundup brand of glyphosate under a series of agreements. These contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing.
In a Q2 trading update, Solvay revealed that an impairment review is under way and likely to lead to a non-cash impairment of about €1.5 billion. This is the result of “the deterioration in short and mid term economic performance due to Covid-19,” the company said.
