Vertellus completes purchase of Dow’s sodium borohydride business

Vertellus, a global leading producer of specialty chemicals for the life sciences market and other industrial sectors, today closed on its previously announced acquisition of The Dow Chemical Company’s (NYSE:DOW) Sodium Borohydride (“SBH”) business.

 

The acquisition expands Vertellus’ life sciences business, adding new process aids and synthesis capabilities to the company’s asset structure. With a state-of-art manufacturing facility located in Elma, Wash., the acquired SBH business is the leading manufacturer of sodium borohydride used in the synthesis of fine chemicals, including pharmaceutical ingredients and agrochemicals. As a process aid used in the life sciences sector, sodium borohydride assists in the manufacture of a wide variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients including high growth antiretrovirals for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

 

In addition to the expanded offering in life sciences, SBH adds to Vertellus’ portfolio of high-performance, specialty chemicals serving industrial markets. In the paper market, SBH is a leading choice in bleaching pulp used in paper and tissue, complementing Vertellus’ position in supplying specialty sizing agents. Similarly, SBH has a variety of high-value, specialty applications as an additive and processing agent in petrochemical processing, which supplement existing Vertellus products sold in the petrochemical and oil and gas markets.

 

The acquisition follows on the November 2014 purchase by Vertellus of Pentagon Chemicals (Holdings) UK Ltd., expanding the company’s agrochemical offerings in the life science sector. With the completion of both acquisitions, revenues from life science applications constitute more than 65 percent of the company’s total revenue.

 

Remarking on the SBH acquisition, Vertellus CEO Rich Preziotti stated, “The integration of the SBH business into Vertellus’ asset structure enhances the size, scale and scope of our offerings in the high-growth synthesis segment, providing new tools to serve global pharma manufacturers’ needs. We look forward to investing in additional research and development that further leverages our capabilities and capacity at this world-class manufacturing facility.”

 

Vertellus is a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm Wind Point Partners. Wind Point Partners acquired Vertellus in partnership with CEO Rich Preziotti. Upon announcing the acquisition in December, Wind Point Partners Managing Director Alex Washington stated, “Completing strategic acquisitions is a key driver of our value creation plan, and with the SBH business, as well as our recent acquisition of Pentagon, we are successfully diversifying our portfolio with a focus on specialty chemicals, particularly in life sciences and high growth industrial markets. The SBH business is attractive and highly complementary to our existing portfolio of products, including processing aids such as Vitride® reducing agents for the fine chemicals industry.”