Lonza Signs Definitive Agreement for the Sale of Brandenburg, KY, Performance Urethanes and Organics business to Monument Chemical
29 November 2012 – Lonza Group and Monument Chemical today announce the signing of a definitive agreement for the sale of substantially all of the assets of Lonza Group’s USA Performance Urethanes and Organics business located in Brandenburg, KY. Formal closing of the agreement is expected prior to year end.
“We are pleased to have found a strategic owner for our Brandenburg facility,” said Richard Ridinger, Chief Executive Officer of Lonza. “While performance urethanes operations is not core to the Lonza portfolio the divestiture of the assets provides the Brandenburg business, with the foundation for continued growth and expansion. Additionally, Lonza can continue to focus on further shaping and moving forward with our strategic activities.”
Amy Schumacher, President of Monument Chemical, said, “We are excited about the acquisition of the Brandenburg facility – the latest example of Monument Chemical’s continued investment in and growth of its portfolio. The addition of the performance urethanes and organics business provides a strong strategic foundation that will benefit the suppliers, customers and employees of the Monument family.”
As part of the Arch Chemicals Inc. acquisition in October, 2011 Lonza considered the divestiture of certain Arch business and assets. A formal divestiture process for Brandenburg was initiated in July of 2012. The Arch Performance Urethanes and Organics Business has been a leading supplier of specialty urethane and organic chemicals for over 40 years, developing and manufacturing products used in applications including products for coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (“CASE”), flexible and rigid foams, coolants and solvents. The Business also supplies polyols, glycols and glycol ethers for such industrial applications as coolants, solvents and food additives.
Financial terms have not been disclosed.
About Lonza
Lonza is one of the world’s leading suppliers to the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life science industries. Products and services span its customers’ needs from research to final product manufacture. It is the global leader in the production and support of active pharmaceutical ingredients both chemically as well as biotechnologically. Biopharmaceuticals are one of the key growth drivers of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Lonza has strong capabilities in large and small molecules, peptides, amino acids and niche bioproducts which play an important role in the development of novel medicines and healthcare products. Lonza is also the world leader in microbial control providing innovative, chemistry-based and related solutions to destroy or to selectively inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms. Its activities encompass the areas of water treatment, personal care, health and hygiene, industrial preservation, materials protection, and wood treatment. In addition, Lonza is a leader in cell-based research, endotoxin detection and cell therapy manufacturing. Furthermore, the company is a leading provider of value chemical and biotech ingredients to the nutrition and agro markets.
Lonza is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and secondary listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”). Lonza is not subject to the SGX-ST’s continuing listing requirements. Lonza is subject to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange, which do not have specific requirements equivalent to the listing rules of the SGX-ST in respect of interested person transactions, acquisition and realizations, and delisting. In 2011, the company had sales of CHF 2.69 billion. Further information can be found at www.lonza.com.
