Emerald Kalama Chemical Announces Acquisition by LANXESS

The sale will include all of Emerald’s operations in Washington state, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. These facilities are used to manufacture consumer-friendly preservatives, nature-identical aroma chemicals, low-VOC coalescents, and non-phthalate plasticizers and modifiers.

Emerald was formed in 2006 from the divesture of several specialty chemical businesses from Lubrizol. It was acquired by affiliates of American Securities in 2014. Since then, Emerald has continued to invest in expanding capabilities and growth, including the acquisition of Innospec Widnes Ltd in the United Kingdom in 2015, a $40 million major expansion at its facility in Rotterdam, and the launch of several new product lines.

“Emerald has grown at a rapid pace, and we have continuously invested in expanding our capabilities. LANXESS has a sterling reputation within our industry as a global supplier, with a foundation built on exceptional service, responsible manufacturing and growth year-over-year. This is a fantastic development for Emerald, as LANXESS will be able to capitalize on existing successes and position of our businesses to continue growing synergistically,” said Edward Gotch, CEO and board member of Emerald.

“We are gaining further momentum on our growth course. The businesses of Emerald Kalama Chemical are an ideal fit for us. We will further strengthen our Consumer Protection segment and open up new application areas with strong margins, for example in the food industry and animal health sector. In addition, we will also enlarge our presence in our growth region of North America,” said Matthias Zachert, Chairman of the Board of Management of LANXESS AG.

“We are proud to have supported Ed and the talented Emerald management team to drive growth and expansion of capabilities during our partnership,” commented Scott Wolff, Chairman of Emerald and a Managing Director of American Securities. “This transaction completes our original strategy for Emerald, which was to find strategic homes for each of the company’s distinct businesses to help them continue to grow.”

About Emerald Kalama Chemical

Emerald Kalama Chemical is a premier material solutions provider, with a wide portfolio of quality ingredients that bring value and performance to applications such as adhesives, foods, beverages, fragrances, cosmetics, home care, vinyl, and other consumer and industrial products. The company was founded in 2006 and has approximately 500 employees worldwide, with operations in the U.S. and Europe and headquarters in Vancouver, Washington.

About LANXESS

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.8 billion in 2019. The company currently has about 14,400 employees in 33 countries. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.

About American Securities LLC

Based in New York with an office in Shanghai, American Securities is a leading U.S. private equity firm that invests in market-leading North American companies with annual revenues generally ranging from $200 million to $2 billion and/or $50 million to $250 million of EBITDA. American Securities and its affiliates have approximately $23 billion under management. For more information, visit www.american-securities.com.