Arkema to by Omya's Coatex business

Arkema announces plans to acquire Omya's Coatex business.

The announcement states that, "Coatex manufactures specialty polymers mainly acrylic based, used as dispersants and thickeners. The main end markets of these high growth specialty chemical activities include paper, paint, water treatment, cosmetics and textile. With its headquarters and largest site in Genay, near Lyon (France) Coatex employs 300 people in the world (Europe, Americas, Asia) and reported sales of € 150 millions in 2006.

Coatex’s business offers strong synergies with Arkema’s in raw material, process and R&D terms, and represents the natural downstream activities of Arkema’s acrylic monomer production sites in Bayport (United States) and Carling (France).

The proposed deal is also a genuine opportunity for the Omya and Arkema groups to develop long-term strategic cooperation, in particular in technical and commercial fields."

The financial details of the proposed deal have not been disclosed. The project is subject to the usual approvals.