EC approval for Perstorp caprolactones deal
The EC announced on 10 January 2008 that the deal, covering the business within caprolactones and one production facility in Warrington, UK, would not distort competition within the EU since Perstorp has no existing caprolactone production facilities. A special investigation of Perstorp’s production of polyhydric alcohols, which are used in limited quantities in the production of caprolactones, has been carried through concluding that there will be no anti-competitive effects.
October 15, 2007, Perstorp announced the agreement with the chemical and pharmaceutical group Solvay for the acquisition of its caprolactone business, Solvay Caprolactones, which had sales in 2006 of EUR 60 million. Solvay Caprolactones is the market leader in its field and the business is generating substantial and increasing profitability.
The products are used in applications such as support material for top-quality shoes, advanced coatings for the auto, aerospace and marine industries, performance hot melt adhesives, a new generation of a broad range of polyols for the PU producers and modern orthopedic brace supports. Many applications are showing high growth and several new applications are under development. Sales are global and manufacturing takes place in Warrington, England with a workforce of 65.
Perstorp has the intention to double the capacity for caprolactones as well as increasing capacities for downstream derivatives to satisfy the strong increase in demand in all the major applications for the products.
“Perstorp’s aim is a long-term commitment in the caprolactone market. To meet the market’s demand for growth, we intend to establish close collaboration with key customers and develop new application areas. Our ambition is to create the world’s biggest caprolactone manufacturing capacity to retain the current leading position,” says Mats Persson, Executive Vice President Business of Perstorp.
“We will initiate basic engineering activities related to the capacity expansion shortly after the closing of the deal, with the objective to have these completed during the second quarter of 2008. The new capacity is expected to be on stream in the first half of 2010,” says Mårten Olausson, Managing Director of Perstorp UK Ltd.